The death toll following a tsunami that hit Indonesia has risen to more than 400, as a five-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble after being buried alive for 12 hours.

Official estimates for the number of people killed in the natural disaster has reached 429, with thousands of people left homeless.

The latest revisions to the number of victims were made after a child, named only as Ali, was rescued after being trapped for 12 hours in a car which had been buried by several trees.

Officers removed the rubble from the car caused after the tsunami hit the islands of Java and Sumatra on Saturday evening following a volcanic eruption.

Footage of the moment Ali was rescued, shared widely online, shows the child clinging to the officer who saved him.

​It is not yet clear if those Ali was with, or members of his family, survived the natural disaster.

More than 1,600 people were injured and at least 128 are still missing after the tsunami, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said.

He said more than 16,000 people were displaced and that there was an urgent need for heavy equipment in the Sumur subdistrict, a remote area near Ujung Kulon National Park that experienced heavy damage.

Some villages there have been cut off due to damaged roads and bridges, making it difficult to supply aid and reach people who may be injured or trapped.

He added that more than 600 homes, many hotels and vendor stalls and more than 400 boats and ships were damaged.

“It is suspected that some victims are still trapped under wreckage and materials washed away by the tsunami,” he said.

The disaster took place in the run up to Christmas and in Carita, a seaside town left reeling from the tsunami instead of holding festivities and exchanging presents, Pastor Rusman Anita Sitorus said during a tearful vigil at a mass in her small church.

“We were planning on holding a Christmas celebration every year, but this year is different due to the tsunami,” she said, as churchgoers lit candles and cried while praying.

Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Show all 25 1 /25 Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Debris littered a property badly damaged by a tsunami in Carita, Indonesia. The tsunami occurred after the eruption of a volcano around Indonesia's Sunda Strait during a busy holiday weekend, sending water crashing ashore and sweeping away hotels, hundreds of houses and people attending a beach concert AP Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Damaged cars are seen among collapsed houses after a tsunami hit Banten, Indonesia, December 23, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Dian Triyuli Handoko/ via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT. ANTARA FOTO Reuters Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave An aerial photo shows damaged buildings in Carita AFP/Getty Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Relatives mourn at a health facility where the bodies of tsunami victims are collected EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave A resident walks past a collapsed guesthouse after a tsunami hit the area at Carita beach in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia, December 23, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. STRINGER Reuters Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave epa07246244 Indonesian officers carry an injured person into an ambulance after a tsunami hit the Sunda Strait in Banten, Indonesia 23 December 2018. According to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB), at least 43 people dead and 584 others have been injured after a tsunami hit the coastal regions of the Sunda Strait. EPA/TUBAGUS TUBAGUS EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave An aerial photo shows damaged buildings in Carita on December 23, 2018, after the area was hit by a tsunami on December 22 following an eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano. - A volcano-triggered tsunami has left at least 168 people dead and hundreds more injured after slamming without warning into beaches around Indonesia's Sunda Strait, officials said on December 23, 2018 voicing fears that the toll was set to rise. (Photo by Azwar Ipank / AFP)AZWAR IPANK/AFP/Getty Images AZWAR IPANK AFP/Getty Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave epa07246251 A man walks among debris, past a damaged car, after a tsunami hit the Sunda Strait in Pandeglang, Banten, Indonesia, 23 December 2018. According to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB), at least 43 people dead and 584 others have been injured after a tsunami hit the coastal regions of the Sunda Strait. EPA/ADI WEDA ADI WEDA EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave A man reacts after identifying his relative among the bodies of tsunami victims in Carita, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. The tsunami occurred after the eruption of a volcano around Indonesia's Sunda Strait during a busy holiday weekend, sending water crashing ashore and sweeping away hotels, hundreds of houses and people attending a beach concert. (AP Photo/Fauzy Chaniago) Fauzy Chaniago AP Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave TOPSHOT - An aerial photo shows damaged buildings in Carita on December 23, 2018, after the area was hit by a tsunami on December 22 following an eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano. - A volcano-triggered tsunami has left at least 168 people dead and hundreds more injured after slamming without warning into beaches around Indonesia's Sunda Strait, officials said on December 23, 2018 voicing fears that the toll was set to rise. (Photo by Azwar Ipank / AFP)AZWAR IPANK/AFP/Getty Images AZWAR IPANK AFP/Getty Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave epa07246239 Dead bodies collected at a health facility after a tsunami hit Sunda Strait in Pandeglang, Banten, Indonesia, 23 December 2018. According to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB), at least 43 people dead and 584 others have been injured after a tsunami hit the coastal regions of the Sunda Strait. EPA/ADI WEDA ADI WEDA EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Residents collect debris from their collapsed houses Reuters Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave A local health center officer covers a dead body Reuters Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave This handout from Indonesia's Social Affairs Ministry taken and released on December 23, 2018 shows damaged buildings and vehicles in Carita, after the area was hit by a tsunami on December 22 following an eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano. - A tsunami following a volcanic eruption killed 62 people and injured hundreds more as it slammed without warning into tourist beaches and coastal areas around Indonesia's Sunda Strait on the night of December 22, sending panicked holidaymakers and residents fleeing. (Photo by Handout / Indonesia Social Affairs Ministry / AFP) / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Indonesia Social Affairs Ministry" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSHANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images HANDOUT AFP/Getty Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave A man inspects his house which was damaged by a tsunami, in Carita, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. The tsunami apparently caused by the eruption of an island volcano killed a number of people around Indonesia's Sunda Strait, sending a wall of water crashing some 65 feet (20 meters) inland and sweeping away hundreds of houses including hotels, the government and witnesses said. (AP Photo/Dian Triyuli Handoko) Dian Triyuli Handoko AP Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Bodies of victims recovered along Carita beach are placed in body bags on December 23, 2018, after the area was hit by a tsunami on December 22 following an eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano. - A tsunami following a volcanic eruption killed 62 people and injured hundreds more as it slammed without warning into tourist beaches and coastal areas around Indonesia's Sunda Strait on the night of December 22, sending panicked holidaymakers and residents fleeing. (Photo by Semi / AFP)SEMI/AFP/Getty Images SEMI AFP/Getty Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave An Indonesian man looks at ruined vehicles EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave epa07246112 A handout photo made available by the Indonesia's national disaster management (BNPB) shows a ruined car that was rolled over after a tsunami hit Sunda Strait, in Anyer, Banten, Indonesia, 23 December 2018. According to BNPB, at least 43 people dead and 584 others have been injured. EPA/BNPB / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES BNPB / HANDOUT EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Indonesian men walk among debris EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Rescue team evacuate the body of a victim EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave A ruined tractor sits in the water EPA Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Survivors receive treatment at a hospital in Carita AFP/Getty Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave A resident walks past damaged houses AP Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave A soldier examines a local resident who was injured Antara Foto/Reuters Indonesia tsunami:Rescue operation begins after devastating tidal wave Damaged cars are seen among the debris after a tsunami hit the Sunda Strait in Indonesia EPA

The occurrence of the disaster during the Christmas season evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on 26 December 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Unlike most tsunamis, this time there was no large earthquake to warn people to run to higher ground before the waves arrived.

Instead, an eruption of the infamous volcanic island Anak Krakatau appears to have triggered a landslide on its slope, which then sent displaced seawater racing.

The islands of Java and Sumatra were both simultaneously hit as water surged inland from the Sunda Strait which divides them.

Residents have remained jittery and fearful of lingering near the coast and since the disaster in at least two separate areas, panicked residents ran towards higher ground because they believed another tsunami was coming.

The head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, Dwikorita Karnawati, said Saturday’s tsunami was probably caused by Anak Krakatau’s volcanic activity and so could not have been picked up by sensors, which monitor conventional earthquakes responsible for more than 90 per cent of Indonesia’s tsunamis.

She said the tsunami was probably caused by the collapse of a big section of the volcano’s slope. Anak Krakatau has been erupting since June and did so again 24 minutes before the tsunami, according to the geophysics agency.