THEY had nothing but a hand drill and hope.

A week after a three-metre wave flattened the Indonesian city of Palu, rescuers using sophisticated sensors heard the signs of life amid the rubble.

French firefighters “detected the presence of a victim”, the telltale but feint sounds of a heartbeat and breathing, in what was once a four-star hotel.

But as night fell, without the heavy equipment, they need Philip Besson and four other Pompiers de l’urgence stopped digging. The morning, they hope, will bring the tools, the aid, they and other local and international rescuers need.

In Britain, charities yesterday launched a rare emergency appeal to help survivors of the 7.5-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami which Palu and its surroundings last Friday.

The UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee or DEC said it urgently needed funds to deliver food, water, shelter and medical care to thousands of people in and around the city, on the island of Sulawesi.

The tsunami, funnelled by a narrow inlet, swept two kilometres inland, destroying everything in its path and leaving at least 1400 people dead.

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Indonesian authorities, their rescue and aid response hampered by choked and blocked roads, were yesterday desperately working to open Palu’s airport for civilian flights.

Promised cargos - including one plane from Britain - include tents and some of the equipment needed by teams like Mr Besson’s.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, which brings together 14 British groups under a single umbrella, said: “DEC member charities and their local partners are working closely with the Indonesian authorities to get aid to those who urgently need it.”

Some residents have taken to digging through reeking piles of sodden food and debris, searching a warehouse wrecked by the tsunami for anything they could salvage: cans of condensed milk, soft drinks, rice, sweets and painkillers.

Others carted away corrugated metal, wood, piping and other items to build temporary shelters or sell.

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National police spokesman Brigadier General Dedi Prasetyo said security will be ramped up to ensure law and order after 92 people were arrested for looting goods such as motor oil, tyres and farming equipment.

Authorities earlier allowed desperate villagers to grab food supplies from shops but have warned them not to take other things. He said security will be necessary for economic activity to resume. Humanitarian convoys have been given military escorts.

The Indonesian army has now been ordered to fire on looters amid growing concern for the security of survivors and what little property they have left.

READ MORE: David Pratt: President in firing line for failures as quake death toll hits 1400

The official death toll has reached 1,424 with thousands more injured and more than 70,000 residents displaced from their homes.

The number of dead is expected to soar as rescue crews comb through affected areas after being slowed initially by broken, impassable roads and other damage.

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Hoax warnings have proliferated since the disaster and the national disaster agency has asked people to only rely on credible sources of information.

The agency said the health ministry has identified air transportation, water treatment, generators and shelter or tents as key priorities.

International help is pouring in, with Singapore, South Korea, Britain and Japan sending military transport aircraft. Multinational companies such as Google and Apple have also pledged monetary assistance, in addition to £11.6 million from the UN and millions more from other countries.

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Residents need more, they said, and warned not all aid was reaching those who needed it most. “Please tell the government and the NGOs, if they’re really willing to help us with some food please do not give it away through the command posts,” Andi Rusding, who was huddled with his relatives under a tarpaulin, told reporters.

“It’s better to go directly to each and every tent. Because sometimes (the relief goods) aren’t distributed evenly.” There were hopes electricity supplies could be restored as trucks hauled in new power lines.

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However, there was anger too, at the speed of the response. Many victims might have survived with faster help. One man, Bambang, told local television he found a friend injured and trapped under debris but was unable to help him.

The friend died, leaving a message to have him buried in front of his church, he said.

“He was still alive then, but he died because the evacuation was so slow,” said Bambang, who like many Indonesians uses one name.

Donations to the DEC can be made through www.dec.org.uk

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