34 children found dead in Indonesia quake

The bodies of at least 34 children have been discovered inside a church in a remote northern region of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi following Friday’s devastating magnitude-7.4 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Red Cross told reporters.

The discovery was the latest heartbreak in an excruciating recovery effort that is just beginning to get underway as the death toll climbs. To date, at least 844 people have died in the catastrophe, but a local report has described scenes of widespread tragedy, with "bodies everywhere."

The children were apparently attending a Christian bible camp when they were killed, Red Cross spokeswoman Aulia Arriani said. While 34 have been counted so far, Arriani said, more bodies are expected to be recovered, but it could take some time. With no heavy machinery available in the remote region of Sigi, there's no way to lift the concrete rubble and dig through the carnage.

Damage has been reported along the coast, where houses, cars and people were swept away in waves that peaked at around 20 feet.

Volunteers in Palu, a city on Sulawesi, have begun preparing for a mass grave with enough capacity to bury more than 1,000 people. The number of dead is likely to rise as response teams reach damaged roads in the affected areas, many of which have been ripped apart from the tremor and littered with debris.