There are 5,000 people missing after the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami

There are still at least 5,000 people missing in the two most affected areas in Palu city after the September 28 earthquake and tsunami.

'Based on reports from Petobo and Balaroa regions (in Palu city), there are about 5,000 people still missing , ' said spokeswoman Indonesia Disaster Relief Agency (BNBP) Supoto Purwo Nugroho on October 7.

Responding to the press conference in Jakarta, Mr. Supoto also updated the number of victims killed in the last disaster that reached 1,763 people.

Mr. Supoto said the process of finding survivors will last until October 11. After that time, those who have not been found will be considered dead in the disaster on September 28.

A Muslim house in the Balaroa area is only a ruin after the magnitude 7.5 earthquake on September 28.(Photo: Getty).

Many areas of Palu city are still submerged in rubble and mud after the September 28 earthquake and tsunami, making it difficult to find and verify the number of missing people. according to AFP.

Some residential areas have completely disappeared after the double disaster in late September. Balaroa is one of the worst hit areas in the last disaster.

At the time of the earthquake, many children in the area were concentrated in a local Muslim house preparing to pray. An assistant to the clergy in the area said no one else at the church survived the earthquake, according to NTNews.

The damage in Petobo is caused by a tsunami. The house was swallowed underground. Many victims were buried alive in the mud. The images recorded at the scene show that nearly all of this locality is wiped out.

Last week, Indonesian authorities considered turning both regions into mass graves because of the huge number of deaths, according to ABC News.

The liquefied soil at Petobo devoured the house and buried hundreds of people alive.(Photo: ABC News).

Initial statistics show that the double earthquake and tsunami disaster in central Sulawesi in late September destroyed a total of 65,733 homes, according to Bernama news agency. More than 70,000 people were pushed into the sky.