JAKARTA INDONESIA: A powerful earthquake killed more than 160 people in Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday, with rescuers searching for survivors trapped under the rubble amid a series of aftershocks.
The epicentre of the 5.6 magnitude quake was the town of Cianjur in mountainous West Java _ 75 km southeast of the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta.
Ridwan Kamil, Governor of West Java, Indonesia confirmed 56 casualties from the quake. The epicentre of the earthquake is the town of Cianjur _ 75 km southeast of the capital, Jakarta.
“So many buildings crumbled and shattered,” Ridwan told reporters.
“Many residents are trapped in under the debris in isolated places and we believe that the number of injured and deaths will rise with time.”
Indonesia straddles the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the Earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Hundreds of the victims of earthquake are being treated in a hospital parking lot. Many buildings in Cianjur reduced to rubble as worried residents huddled outside.
West Java governor Ridwan Kamil said on Instagram that 162 people had been killed and 326 were injured.
Ridwan told reporters that given many buildings have collapsed, the death toll could rise further.
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