Zimpapers Logo

JAKARTA. — A helicopter has dropped disinfectants on quake and tsunami hit areas in Central Sulawesi province, aiming to prevent diseases from spreading, a disaster agency official said here on Thursday.

The disinfectants were dropped from a MI-8 helicopter especially on Petobo and Balaroa residential areas, where over 5,000 people remain unaccounted for following the tragic earthquake, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

“Thousands of people who are missing are assumed to have been buried under the soil during the liquefaction (and the soil movement),” he told Xinhua in a text message.

Areas outside hospitals where bodies were gathered after being retrieved were also treated with disinfectants, Sutopo added. “The disinfectant bombings is in anticipating of the spread of diseases by vectors such as flies, cockroaches and mice, which are threatening health condition in surrounding areas,” Sutopo said.

The catastrophe has forced over 87,000 people to flee their homes. Most of those affected are living in encampment and under tarpaulins, according to the disaster agency. Indonesia is prone to quakes as it sits on a vulnerable quake-affected areas called the Pacific Ring of Fire. – Xinhua