After the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Indonesia, many inmates have escaped from prisons. According to the Ministry of Justice, about 1,200 prisoners have fled from three detention centers on the affected island of Sulawesi. Two of the prisons are located in the devastated city of Palu.

"I'm sure they fled because they were afraid of being hit by the earthquake," said Ministry Representative Sri Puguh Utami. "For the prisoners, this is certainly a matter of life and death." Most of the detainees were convicted of corruption and drug offenses.

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Tsunami in Indonesia: Desperate search for survivors

According to official figures, the earthquake and tsunami killed at least 832 people on the west coast of Indonesia's fourth largest island. There are also many hundreds injured.

However, it is feared that these numbers will rise significantly - partly because emergency forces have not yet access to some of the affected regions. Especially in the municipality of Donggala in the north many victims are feared.

The work of the rescue workers on the island of Sulawesi, however, according to the helpers made difficult by the fact that it lacks technical equipment and fuel. The military flew generators because the power is still interrupted after two heavy earthquakes and the following tidal wave from Friday in many places.

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DPA

With more than 260 million inhabitants, Indonesia is one of the most populated states in the world and is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geologically very active zone. There the earth quakes again and again.

On Christmas Day 2004, an earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that resulted in the deaths of some 230,000 people in the eastern coastal states of the Indian Ocean.