With his very own eyes Andi Fadli saw his hopes to save his aunt and three nephews quickly fading away when their house along with 32 others fell into the sea following last week's powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

As of Thursday, the death toll from Friday's earthquake and tsunami disasters has risen to 1,424 as bodies continue to be found in the rubble, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Most of the deaths occurred in Palu, the capital of the island's Central Sulawesi province, and the nearby coastal town of Donggala, which bore the brunt of the tsunamis.

(Andi Fadli)

Another 2,549 people suffered serious injuries, while 114 are listed as missing, including one South Korean.

While his neighbors fled their houses after the magnitude 7.5 quake struck Palu, Donggala and nearby areas, Fadli, who lives in Kampung Muara, near the port of Donggala, decided to do the contrary.

"I rushed to my house because my auntie and three nephews (living next to his house) were still there," the 24-year-old technician told Kyodo News while sitting in front of the debris of his house, now located at the shoreline.

He arrived too late. He witnessed 33 of 47 houses in Kampung Muara being swept down to the sea while many were still occupied.

Desperately, from soon after the disaster struck until the early hours of the following morning, he swam and dived in the sea, trying to find his loved ones.

"I dived, looking for them, but couldn't go deeper because I wasn't wearing adequate diving equipment," Fadli said.

While diving, he noticed that many of the houses had come to rest underwater still intact.

He failed to locate his aunt and nephews, but during the search found five bodies. As of Thursday, at least 12 of 47 missing occupants were still unaccounted for.

A 15-year-old boy, also named Fadli, was among the few survivors.

His father, Marjuni, 45, told Kyodo News that his family had the chance to escape the landslide.

But his wife, upon realizing that her stroke-stricken cousin might still be at home, decided to return to Kampung Muara.

"My wife was very close to her cousin and I knew that she would do everything to save her," he said.

However, after she failed to return, Fadli ran to his aunt's house to find them.

(Marjuni)

Marjuni quoted Fadli as telling him that he was about to open the kitchen door when the house suddenly started sliding.

"My son is a good swimmer and with all his effort he went up to the roof, broke through it and stood on the roof, waving and asking for help," he said.

Both Fadli and Marjuni said that rescuers later provided them with a rubber boat to look for the missing residents, but have not dived to search for them.

"We are now searching for the victims alone. No help from the rescuers, except the rubber boat," Fadli said.

The quake triggered a tsunami with up to 3-meter-high waves, causing widespread devastation and loss of life.

To speed up disaster relief, Indonesia is accepting some foreign aid focused on air transport, water treatment, generators and tents.

Over 25 countries have offered help, including Japan.

The Indonesian government has specifically requested C-130 transport planes, which are capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings. The quake damaged the runway at Palu's only airport so that it can now only accommodate aircraft that can land on less than 2,000 meters of runway.

The remoteness of much of the area and loss of communications, as well as damaged infrastructure, continue to make it difficult for Indonesian authorities to assess the full scale of the disaster at this stage.

Tempers are also flaring among displaced people who are in dire of food and safe drinking water, leading to looting in Palu and surrounding areas.

In response, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has ordered the military and police to guard banks, shops and gasoline stations, as well as vehicles from outside the affected areas that are carrying basic commodities and gasoline to Palu.