Inmarsat-sponsored emergency telecoms agency, Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), deployed a team of technicians from its international headquarters in France, and from its Asian base in Bangkok just hours after Sulawesi Island in Indonesia was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake, triggering a deadly tsunami on 28 September.
The death toll currently standing at over 800, however it is feared that this could run into thousands after reported 20-foot-high (6 metres) waves, hitting at a speed of 500 miles (800 km) per hour, battered the cities of Palu and Donggala, with several strong aftershocks, including one of magnitude 6.7, also recorded.
National Agency for Disaster Management spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho declared that houses were swept away and numerous families were reported missing. He added that communications to the area had been disrupted, hampering efforts to find out more information on what had happened.
With medical and food supplies in danger of running out and terrestrial communications down, it is essential to establish satellite connectivity in order to coordinate emergency response.
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