Shallow quake kills 62 in Indonesia

A shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed at least 62 people, with hundreds injured and others missing, when it toppled buildings and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, officials said.

Doctors treated patients outdoors after the quake, which was felt as far away as the capital Jakarta, left hospitals in the West Java town of Cianjur without power for several hours.

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said 25 people remained trapped under the rubble as the rescue mission stretched into the night.

The agency increased the death toll from 56 and said more than 2,000 houses were damaged and more than 5,000 people were taken to evacuation centres.

“You can see it yourself, some got their heads, feet sewn outdoors. Some got stressed and started crying,” West Java governor Ridwan Kamil told a news conference broadcast on Kompas TV.

Kamil said power had been partially restored by the evening, without specifying if that meant by generators or connection to a power grid.

The afternoon quake was centred in the Cianjur region and local authorities said as many as 700 had been wounded, warning the death toll could rise further.