A shopping center heavily damaged following an earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia September 28, 2018 in this handout photo made available by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/BNBP/ via REUTERS

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said “many bodies” had been found along the shoreline of the Indonesian city of Palu on Sulawesi island which was hit by a major earthquake and a tsunami on Friday.

At least 48 people had been killed in the disaster and the death toll was expected to rise, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the agency.

“We have not received comprehensive reports yet because communications are cut. Many bodies were found along the shoreline because of the tsunami, but the numbers are still unknown,” he said.

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the area and was followed by a tsunami.