On Sunday, teams of orange-clad rescuers climbed the tangled stays of an Indonesian hotel, hoping to dig out 50 to 60 guests who still feared they might be trapped by the earthquake and tsunami.
Authorities consider the 80-room Roa-Roa Hotel in the town of Palu on the island of Sulawesi was almost full when the district was hit by a 7.5-magnitude quake and tsunami on Friday.
“It is estimated that fifty to 60 individuals are still buried under the rubble,” said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Among those believed to be stuck inside was a South Korean citizen.
Rescuers focus their life-saving efforts on the hotel.
But now they’re racing against time to locate and rescue survivors before they change into injured, exhausted or dehydrated.
“We even heard people screaming for help at the Roa-Roa Hotel yesterday,” said Muhammad Syaugi, head of the country’s Search and Rescue Agency.
He added that a minimum of one person was pulled out alive.
Footage released by the agency on Sunday shows drained rescuers carrying one body wrapped in black plastic on a stretcher.
Until Friday, the Roa-Roa was a contemporary, elegant hotel aimed toward business travelers, overlooking the Strait of Makassar and the cloud-shrouded mountains in the space.
It offered guests “quick access to shopping malls, Talise Beach, market and restaurants” for about $30 an evening.
Now Ray Eames-style designer chairs and whitewashed surfaces are buried under a mangled pile of rebar, dust and concrete.
