Death toll jumps to 384 after tsunami, quake in Indonesia

* Massive waves swept many to their death

* Bodies found along shoreline

* Many collapsed buildings, 540 injured

* Rescue efforts hindered by power outage

The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi jumped to 384 on Saturday, authorities said, with many of those killed swept away by giant waves as they played on the beach.

Strong aftershocks continued to rock the coastal city on Saturday morning after waves up to six metres (18 feet) high swept through the scenic tourist town on Friday, triggered by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on land.

"When the (tsunami) threat arose yesterday, people were still doing their activities on the beach and did not immediately run and they became victims," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency BNPB said in news briefing in Jakarta.

Hundreds of people were preparing for a beach festival to celebrate Palu's anniversary. The festival was due to start Friday night.

Some people climbed six metre (18 feet) trees to escape the tsunami and survived, Nugroho said.

Photos confirmed by authorities showed bodies being lined up along the street on Saturday, some in bags and some with their faces covered with clothes.

Amateur footage shown by local TV stations, which could not immediately be authenticated by Reuters, showed waters crashing into houses along Palu's shoreline, scattering shipping containers and flooding into a mosque in the city.

Nugroho described the damage as "extensive" with thousands of houses, hospitals, shopping malls and hotels collapsed, a bridge washed away and the main highway to Palu cut due to a landslide.

Bodies of some victims were found trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, he said, adding 540 people were injured. Dozens of injured people were being treated in makeshift medical tents set up outdoors, TV images showed.

Source: Reuters