At 281 victims, fears that the death toll will rise
A previous report released by the Indonesian authorities put the death toll at 222.
The tsunami hit the southern coast of Sumatra and the western tip of Java unannounced on Saturday night, after the eruption of the volcano known as the "child" of the legendary Krakatoa, Anak Krakatoa.
Teams equipped with construction machinery and other heavy equipment are currently searching the wreckage in the hope of finding survivors.
Experts warn against the danger of new deadly seismic tidal waves hitting the area, due to the ongoing volcanic activity, as reported by the Athens News Agency.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is expected to visit the affected areas today, less than three months after a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake killed more than 2.000 people in and around Palu. Κελέβη.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 17.000 islands and islets formed by the convergence of three major tectonic plates (Indo-Pacific, Australian and Eurasian), is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire where the Pacific Ocean and . At least 127 active volcanoes are counted in the Asian country.
Hundreds of buildings were flattened by the waves, which hit the southern coast of Sumatra and the western tip of Java at around 21.30pm local time on Saturday night.
Communities in the small islands of Sond may have been hit hardest by the tsunami, according to the NGO Oxfam.
Initially, the authorities announced that it was not a tsunami, but a flood and called on the population not to panic.
"It was wrong, we regret it," Nugroho later admitted.
In the images that saw the light of day and were posted on social media, a huge wave can be seen overwhelming everything during a concert of the pop band Seventeen. Its members are thrown off the stage by the rushing waters.
We ran to the forest
Photographer Austin Andersen said on Facebook that he was taking pictures of the volcano in Java when the tsunami hit the area.
"Suddenly I saw a huge wave. I had to run, as the wave hit the beach, flooding everything at a distance of 15-20 meters. The next wave entered the perimeter of the hotel where I was ".
Asep Pergangat, who managed to escape from Carita Beach on Saturday night with his family, described seeing cars "drifting for a distance of 10 meters".
"Buildings on the beach were destroyed, trees and electricity pylons were uprooted and ended up on the ground," he told AFP.
"Everyone who was safe ran to the forest."
Police rescued a boy trapped in a car that had been buried under uprooted trees and rubble for at least 12 hours, according to a video of his rescue posted on Twitter by Indonesian police.
The tsunami was triggered by a "submarine landslide triggered by the volcanic activity of Anak Krakatoa and intensified by the tide due to the full moon," authorities said.
The eruption of Krakatoa, known as Krakatau, in 1883 killed more than 36.000 people in a tsunami.
The moment the tsunami sweeps away bands and spectators in Indonesia
The images from Indonesia, where a tsunami hit the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian archipelago after a submarine landslide that caused the eruption of the volcano Anak Krakatoa, are dramatic. The tragic toll, according to the latest figures, is more than 60 dead and hundreds injured.
A video that saw the light of day captures the moment when the tsunami swept away a band while they were singing on stage. Officials at state-owned PLN gathered in the Tanjung Lesung area to take part in the celebration at the end of the year, a company spokesman told Reuters. his passage.