Death from earthquake in Indonesia rises to 162, hundreds injured, missing

The death toll from a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that hit the Indonesian main island of Java on Monday has risen to 162, with hundreds injured and still missing as rescuers continued searching for survivors believed to be trapped under the rubble amid a series of aftershocks.

The epicentre of the powerful quake was near the town of Cianjur in mountainous West Java, about 75km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta, is home to more than 2.5 million people with most of the town destroyed, West Java Governor, Ridwan Kamil, said as he announced the new death toll in the remote area.

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The residents of Cianjur live mostly in towns of single and two-storey buildings and in smaller homes in the surrounding countryside.

“Many of the dead were public school students who had finished their classes for the day and were taking extra lessons at several Islamic schools when they collapsed,” Kamil said.

Health officials say the death toll is expected to rise further, but no new estimates were immediately available.

Kamil said that more than 13,000 people whose homes were heavily damaged were taken to evacuation centres, adding that 326 others have been injured.

“So many buildings crumbled and shattered. There are residents trapped in isolated places … so we are under the assumption that the number of injured and deaths will rise with time,” Kamil told reporters at a press conference late Monday.

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