BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush visited the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province of Aceh Sunday to witness the devastation.
Visiting a mosque in Lampuuk, near Banda Aceh, Clinton and Bush met some of the few hundred people from the surrounding area who survived the tsunami. The area's estimated pre-tsunami population was around 7,000.
"I have never seen this... it's unbelievable," said a visibly-moved Bush.
"What we have seen on television is just a small part," added Clinton. "We have seen it with our own eyes. In this village, 80 percent of the people were killed."
More than 230,000 people were killed or are missing in Aceh and nearby North Sumatra. A massive earthquake Dec. 26 produced the tsunami that devastated tens of thousands of homes and buildings along Aceh's coastline.
Clinton said a complete recovery in the entire region will take three to five years, Indonesia's state-run Antara news agency reported.
Before flying into Aceh, the former U.S> presidents held brief talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Medan, the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province.
Bush and Clinton were later to fly to Sri Lanka and the Maldives for the last leg of the tour of nations devastated by the tsunami.
