Indonesia earthquake death toll rises to 252: official

The death toll from the earthquake that shook the Indonesian island of Java leapt to 252 on Tuesday as more bodies were found beneath collapsed buildingsThe Cianjur regional disaster mitigation agency said on its Instagram site that the number of dead increased from 162 reported the night before Another 31 people remain missing and hundreds were injuredThe city of Cianjur south of Jakarta was near the epicenter of the 56 magnitude earthquake that hit Monday afternoon The temblor sent terrified residents fleeing into the streets some covered in blood and debris and caused buildings around the rural area to collapseOne woman told The Associated Press that when the earthquake hit her home in Cianjur started shaking like it was dancingI was crying and immediately grabbed my husband and children said the woman who gave her name only as Partinem The house collapsed shortly after she escaped with her familyIf I didnt pull them out we might have also been victims she said gazing over the pile of concrete and timber rubbleIn addition to those killed authorities reported more than 300 people were seriously hurt and at least 600 more suffered minor injuriesIn the village of Cijedil northwest of Cianjur the quake triggered a landslide that blocked streets and buried several houses and there were reports that 25 people were still buried said Henri Alfiandi chief of the National Search and Rescue AgencyWe are maximizing operations at several points where it is suspected that there are still casualties Our team is also trying to reach remote areas he said For us all victims are a priority our goal is to find them and save lives by getting them evacuated as soon as possible and get medical helpWith hospitals already overwhelmed patients lay on stretchers and cots in tents set up outside with intravenous drips in their arms as they awaited further treatmentMany of the dead were public school students who had finished their classes for the day and were taking extra lessons at Islamic schools when the buildings collapsed West Java Gov Ridwan Kamil saidInitial rescue attempts were hampered by damaged roads and bridges and power blackouts and a lack of heavy equipment to help move the heavy concrete rubble By Tuesday power supplies and phone communications had begun to improveOperations were focused on about a dozen locations in Cianjur where people are still believed trapped said Endra Atmawidjaja the public works and housing spokespersonIN PHOTOS Indonesia quake kills 252 homes buildings roads left in rubbleWe are racing against time to rescue people Atmawidjaja said adding that seven excavators and 10 large trucks had been deployed from neighboring Bandung and Bogor cities to continue clearing trees and soil that blocked roadsCargo trucks carrying food tents blankets and other supplies from Jakarta were arriving early Tuesday in temporary shelters Still thousands spent the night in the open fearing aftershocksBuildings were completely flattened said Dwi Sarmadi who works for an Islamic educational foundation in a neighboring districtPresident Joko Widodo on Tuesday visited Cianjur to reassure people of the governments response in reaching those in needOn behalf of myself and on behalf of the government I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims and their families in this Cianjur earthquake he said after visiting survivors in shelters on a soccer fieldHe pledged to rebuild infrastructure including the main bridge connecting Cianjur to other cities and to provide the government assistance up to 50 million rupiah 3180 to each resident whose house was damagedRoughly 175000 people live in Cianjur part of a mountainous district of the same name with more than 25 million people Known for their piety the people of Cianjur live mostly in towns of one and twostory buildings and in smaller homes in the surrounding countrysideKamil said that more than 13000 people whose homes were heavily damaged were taken to evacuation centers Outside the Cianjur Regional Hospital hundreds waited for treatmentI was working inside my office building The building was not damaged but as the quake shook very strongly many things fell My leg was hit by heavy stuff Sarmadi saidHe was waiting near a tent outside the hospital after some overwhelmed clinics were unable to see him Many people were coming in worse shape I really hope they can handle me soon he saidHasan a construction worker who like many Indonesians uses one name was also one of the survivors who was taken to the hospitalI fainted It was very strong Hasan recalled I saw my friends running to escape from the building But it was too late to get out and I was hit by the wallThe quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers 62 miles It also caused panic in the greater Jakarta area about a three hourdrive away where highrises swayed and some people evacuatedThe country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin known as the Ring of FireIn February a magnitude 62 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province In January 2021 a magnitude 62 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6500 in West Sulawesi provinceA powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed 230000 people in a dozen countries most of them in IndonesiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever