Dozens dead as quake shakes Indonesia

CIANJUR, Indonesia — A shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed at least 56 people and injured hundreds when it damaged buildings and triggered landslides on Indonesia's main island of Java on Monday, officials said.

The afternoon quake was centered in the Cianjur region of West Java, according to the United States Geological Survey, and was felt as far away as the capital Jakarta, where panicked residents ran into the streets.

Herman Suherman, head of Cianjur's local administration, said the death toll reached 56 as of Monday evening, and around 700 were injured.

The majority of deaths were counted in one hospital, he said earlier, with most of the victims killed in the ruins of collapsed buildings.

He said the town's Sayang hospital had no power after the quake, leaving doctors unable to operate on victims.

Locals rushed victims to the hospital on pickup trucks and motorbikes, as seen in footage obtained by Agence France-Presse.

They were placed in front of the facility as residents spread a tarpaulin on the road for the bodies.

Suherman said electricity was still down and authorities also needed more health workers due to the overwhelming number of patients.

Thousands of homes could have been damaged in the quake, Adam, a spokesperson for the administration who goes by one name, said.

Shops, a hospital and an Islamic boarding school in the town were severely damaged, Indonesian media reported.

Collapsed buildings

Broadcasters showed several buildings in Cianjur with their roofs collapsed and debris lining the streets.

Relatives of victims congregated at the hospital. Suherman warned the death toll could rise because villagers outside the town may still be trapped.

"We are currently handling people who are in an emergency state in this hospital. The ambulances keep on coming from the villages to the hospital," he said.

Indonesia's disaster chief Suharyanto, who also goes by one name, said at least 14 people had died in the Cianjur area, but said information was "still developing".

Cianjur police chief Doni Hermawan told Metro TV that authorities had rescued a woman and a baby from a landslide, but a third person they found had died of their injuries.

Indonesia's meteorological agency warned residents near the quake to watch out for more tremors.

"We call on people to stay outside the buildings for now as there might be potential aftershocks," Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia's meteorological agency, told reporters.

There were no reports of casualties or major damage in Jakarta.

Mayadita Waluyo, a 22-year-old lawyer, described how panicked workers ran for the exits of their building in Jakarta as the quake struck.

"I was working when the floor under me was shaking. I could feel the tremor clearly. I tried to do nothing to process what it was, but it became even stronger and lasted for some time," she said.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

A 6.2-magnitude quake that shook Sulawesi island in January 2021 killed more than 100 people and left thousands homeless.

Agencies Via Xinhua