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Indonesia tsunami kills 272; help arriving
Posted: Oct 27, 2010 6:25 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Oct 27, 2010 6:26 AM
PADANG, Indonesia (AP) - Planes and helicopters carrying rescue workers and aid supplies have landed on the remote Indonesian islands swamped by a 10-foot tsunami earlier this week.
Disaster officials also are also getting their first aerial look at the damage. Huge stretches of land remain underwater, while homes appear to have been reduced to rubble.
The tsunami swept away villages and killed at least 272 people. More than 400 others are missing. But officials fear the toll could be much worse.
They've still not reached more than a dozen villages. The Health Ministry has sent hundreds of body bags to the scene.
The 7.7-magnitude quake that struck late Monday just 13 miles beneath the ocean floor. It was followed by at least 14 aftershocks. The largest measured 6.2.
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