Samoan reporter: Tsunami victims ‘are everywhere’ in local hospital, with up to 20 dead

Tsunami: Up to 20 dead in Samoa

LALOMANU, Samoa — A Samoan reporter says tsunami victims “are everywhere” in a hospital near a hard-hit area and the dead could number up to 20.

Associated Press reporter Keni Lesa said three or four villages on the popular tourist coast near the southern town of Lalomanu on Samoa’s main island of Upolu had been “wiped out” by waves that roared ashore early Wednesday.

Lesa said he had visited the town’s main hospital where “there are bodies everywhere,” including at least one child.

The Samoan government has not yet confirmed fatalities. Officials in neighboring American Samoa say at least 14 people have been killed there.

(This version CORRECTS APNewsNow. corrects spelling of reporter’s name to Keni Lesa. For global distribution.)