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Indonesia Tsunami: Death toll crosses 420, around 1400 injured

The death toll due to a tsunami triggered by a volcanic eruption Indonesia has crossed 420 with more than 1,400 people injured.

Thousands of people were left homeless when the waves smashed homes on coastal areas of western Java and southern Sumatra.

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told the AP that the death toll had climbed to 429 on Tuesday and at least 128 were missing.

Military troops, government personnel and volunteers were searching along debris-strewn beaches. Where victims were found, body bags were laid out, and weeping relatives identified the dead.

According to Indonesia’s geological agency, the volcano Anak Krakatoa had been showing signs of heightened activity for days, spewing plumes of ash thousands of metres into the air.

The vast archipelago nation is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth due to its position straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.

Most recently in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island a quake and tsunami in September killed thousands of people.

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