Hopes are fading for 334 people still registered missing after Monday's tsunami in Indonesia, as the death toll climbs to 370.
Disaster official Ade Edward says the 3m (10ft) surge is likely to have carried many of the missing out to sea, or buried them in the sand.
The first major aid ships reached the worst-hit Mentawai Islands on Thursday.
The government has pledged millions of dollars for the relief effort, but activists say more needs to be done.
Aid agencies said people on the islands still urgently needed to food and shelter, three days after a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake triggered the tsunami.
Indonesia is also struggling with the devastation caused by this week's eruption of Mount Merapi in central Java, which killed more than 30 people.
BBC News
