Two posts last Thursday that linked to the following article were redirected to a Yahoo article that had the "official" death quote of 120,000 instead of the Asian estimate of 400,000. Is the site this article was posted on (Bernama) not reliable??
Indonesia Needs Help, Death Toll Expected To Exceed 400,000
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia Drs H. Rusdihardjo said Thursday.
He said the estimate was based on air surveillance by Indonesian authorities who found no signs of life in places like Meulaboh, Pulau Simeulue and Tapak Tuan while several islands off the west coast of Sumatera had "disappeared".
He said the latest death toll of more than 40,000 in Acheh and northern Sumatera did not take into account the figures from the other areas, especially in the west of the region.
"Aerial surveillance found the town of Meulaboh completely destroyed with only one buiding standing. The building, which belonged to the military, happens to be on a hill," he told reporters after receiving RM1 million in aid for Indonesia's Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund here Thursday.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=111574 First DU posting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph... Second DU posting:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...