Earthquake in Indonesia leaves at least 160 dead

A strong earthquake on Monday killed more than 160 people in the Indonesian province of Java Occidentaland rescue teams were still searching for survivors trapped under the rubble amid a series of aftershocks.

The epicenter of the 5.6 magnitude quake was located near the city of Cianjur, in the mountainous Java Occidental, about 75 kilometers southeast of the capital, Jakarta. More than 2.5 million people live in the region.

the governor of Java OccidentalRidwan Kamil, said on Instagram that 162 people had been killed and 326 injured.

The Indonesian disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) still put the death toll at 62 and rescuers were searching for 25 people believed to be trapped under rubble. A spokesman said the search would continue overnight.

Ridwan told reporters that as many buildings have collapsed, the death toll could rise.

“There are residents trapped in isolated places (…) so we assume that the number of injuries and deaths will increase over time.”

Indonesia is found in the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire“, an area of ​​great seismic activity, where different plates of the earth’s crust come together and which generates a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The BNPB said more than 2,200 houses had been damaged and more than 5,300 people had been displaced. Ridwan put the number of displaced people at 13,000 and said they are spread across various evacuation centers in Cianjur.

kg