JAKARTA, (Reuters) – At least 20 people died in Indonesia on the islands of Java and Sumatra when a tsunami struck areas around the Sunda Strait late yesterday following a sub-sea landslide caused by a volcano, the government’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
According to a statement by the agency, another 165 people had been injured in the incident. It was not immediately clear how many people were missing.
“It was caused by a combination of an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic activity on Anak Krakatau and a tidal wave,” disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
According to a statement from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, “the tsunami hit several areas of the Sunda Strait, including beaches in Pandeglang regency, Serang, and South Lampung.”
The tsunami struck at around 9.30pm local time on Saturday, it said.
Endan Permana, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency in Pandeglang, told Metro TV police were providing immediate assistance to victims in Tanjung Lesung in Banten province, a popular tourist getaway not far from Jakarta, as emergency workers had not arrived in the area yet.
“Many are missing,” Permana said.
