Death toll in tsunami tragedy in Indonesia nearly hits 2,000

Nearly 2000 people have now been confirmed dead on Monday in the aftermath of a tsunami that rocked the Sulawesi island of Indonesia late September.

The death toll is expected to rise to as high as 5000, as thousands of people are believed to still be unaccounted for.

Officials, reports say, have maintained that search teams plan to stop looking for victims later this week.

The September 28 quake was said to have caused very loose, wet soil which has made it difficult to use heavy equipment for recovery. Decomposition of bodies is also already advanced.

Normal life was beginning to return to many areas following the incident.

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Many schools, according to Willem Rampangilei, head of the National Board for Disaster Management, have been completely destroyed, but classes will resume where possible. However, many students are still too scared to return.

Officials, who gave the current casualty figure as 1,948, reiterated that the search is expected to end on Thursday this week, though the deadline could be extended if need arises.