They lived to tell how

The account of the trek by the three construction workers painted a picture of destruction so severe that all the survivors appeared to have fled their villages along the coastal strip for safety in the steep hills above the shore. The west coast of the island is so difficult to reach that authorities still are uncertain how many people died.

In some parts of Sumatra’s west coast that rescue workers have reached, three quarters of the population was wiped out. In the village in Calang, where the three laborers worked and began their trek, only 20 of the 400 people survived, they said.

Mohammed said survived by grabbing onto a durian tree as the waves rolled in. Although the pace of rescue operations and food distribution has picked up over the past few days, the trio said they did not see any sign of aid workers along the coast. ‘‘I didn’t see anyone alive in five days of walking,’’ Mohammed said.

Some victims have criticized the Indonesian military for the slow pace of aid distribution and its initial hesitation to work with some foreign donors. But on Friday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla also said US aid was taking too long. ‘‘We received many condolences but not yet enough in kind,’’ he told reporters during a stop in Banda Aceh.

The destruction in Lhoknga, about 10 miles south of Banda Aceh, illustrates the power of the quake and tsunami along the west coast. Nearly every building was obliterated, leaving only the foundations and rubble. At a military post in the village, only six of the 300 soldiers survived. In all, only about 200 of the 1,000 residents survived. — LAT-WP