Aftershocks hit Nias as relief efforts build

‘‘Hot, hot,’’ the long-haired woman identified as Suri said after being pulled out. ‘‘My daughter and my sister are dead. They were in the living room.’’

Indonesian television showed a boy who was alive being pulled from the rubble of another building.

As many as 2,000 people are feared to have died, many of them trapped under the rubble, according to Indonesian officials. A UN statement late on Wednesday said some 500 were confirmed killed.

Hungry survivors who fled to the hills for fear of massive waves similar to the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck the area three months ago were returning to the main town, Gunungsitoli.

The UN’s World Food Programme estimated 200,000 Nias residents would need food aid for about two months. Government data show 700,000 residents on the island.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived on the island on Thursday and held meetings with officials. During a visit to damaged areas he urged residents to have patience.

Nias regent Binahati Baeha said in Gunungsitoli that aid was now flowing better.

‘‘Aid has come, there has been some progress,’’ he said, adding that hundreds of Indonesian soldiers on the island were engaged in rescue and body recovery work.

But Ole Hauge, delegation head for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Jakarta, said some parts of Nias and outlying islands were still hard to reach.

A contingent of Australian medics had also arrived on the island. Three Singaporean Chinook helicopters ferried the worst injured off the island to the Sumatran mainland. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Thursday revised down the number of Australians missing following the earthquake to four, from 15.

The British embassy in Jakarta said ‘‘a small number’’ of its nationals were missing. A US Embassy spokesman said about 10 people were unaccounted for.

—Reuters