AFP extension
ANNOUNCEMENTS••Edited
Rescuers on the Indonesian island of Java are still searching for survivors of yesterday’s earthquake, which left at least 162 dead. Excavators and dump trucks worked through the night, even clearing the streets.
The death toll is expected to rise further. There are many seriously injured in overcrowded hospitals. There are also many missing people, for example, in the city of Cianjur. Near that place yesterday morning the epicenter of the magnitude 5.6 shock occurred. Many victims may still be under the rubble, emergency services think.
An eyewitness says that all the houses in his neighborhood were swept away:
Java earthquake eyewitnesses: ‘Everything was swept away’
Meanwhile, local authorities are slowly gaining insight into the damage. More than 2,300 buildings were reportedly damaged, many of which are now uninhabitable. In the village of Cijedil, northwest of Cianjur, the earthquake caused a landslide that buried several houses.
Among the victims many children
Many infrastructures were also damaged, such as roads and bridges. This makes it difficult for rescuers to reach the affected places, Indonesian rescue service chief Henri Alfiandi told a press conference.
Alfiandi also said many children died in the collapsed buildings. “Because they were still in school during the earthquake.”
Indonesia has about 270 million inhabitants, more than half of whom live in Java. Yesterday’s quake was felt in the capital Jakarta, about 75 kilometers away. The damage in that city does not appear to be serious.
