JAKARTA, May 29 (UPI) -- The director of the United Nation's relief efforts, Jan Egeland, says helping earthquake survivors in Indonesia is being slowed by driving rains.
With more than 5,000 people known dead three days after the 6.3-magnitude quake, Egeland told the BBC aid agencies were in a race against the clock to save those who are injured or may be trapped.
"Hundreds of thousands will have been affected here. I would assume that tens of thousands have smaller (and) bigger injuries," Egland said. "Hospitals, the whole medical infrastructure, are overwhelmed. Many have severed limbs, crushed limbs, as in all other earthquakes, and it's a race against the clock to save their lives."
Meanwhile, volcanic activity at nearby Mount Merapi increased Monday, but officials said the relief effort planned for an eruption has now been diverted to deal with the earthquake, the report said.
