4,000 still trapped in Indonesia’s quake zone

Four days after a massive earthquake occurred off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, thousands remain trapped under the rubble, the UN says.

According to the United Nations, almost 1,200 people are known to have died in the Sumatran city of Padang, following Wednesday’s massive quake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people are still trapped or buried under the rubble.

Rescuers –now turning their attention to rural areas– say hundreds of villages outside Padang have been completely destroyed by landslides and that the chances of finding survivors are growing slimmer.

“The difficulty in this rescue operation is that the houses are buried under soil as much as four meters deep. So far we have been using our hands to dig up the soil”, a local search and rescue officer said Saturday.

At least four hillside villages near Padang have been completely buried under rubble and all 400 residents are presumed dead.

UN officials expect a sharp rise in the death toll.

“I think the death toll is going to rise dramatically, the current figure of 1,200 is going to be very low from listening to people working at the scene. There will certainly be more than 2,000,” Bob McKerrow, head of the Indonesia delegation of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society said.

Rescue teams from several countries, including Japan and Switzerland have arrived in Padang in a last push to save lives.