UN secretary general visits quake-hit Indonesian city

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has visited an Indonesian city shattered by an earthquake and tsunami to assess the impact of the disasters.

Guterres paid a visit Friday to the city of Palu on Sulawesi island during a trip to Bali to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Guterres visited Balaroa, where the September 28 quake liquefied soft soil and tore apart neighbourhoods, and the coastal area of Talise, which was badly damaged by the tsunami that followed the magnitude 7.5 quake.

The official death toll had risen to 2,073 as of Thursday.

The IMF-World Bank meetings are being held until Sunday.