Death toll in Nias island stands at nearly 1,000: Reports

KUALA LUMPUR - The death toll from a powerful earthquake that devastated the remote Indonesian island of Nias has risen to nearly 1,000 Wednesday, reports circulated in Indonesia quoted the regional governor as saying.
The governor said that rescue operations were still continuing to dig out survivors under the debris of the collapsed buildings.
Most of the bodies from Mondays devastating 8.7 earthquake were on the island of Nias which lies some 75 miles south of the epicenter of the deadly quake.
The death toll was put at 330 yesterday but has risen steadily as the Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said yesterday that the death toll might exceed 2,000. (end) tg.