CIANJUR, INDONESIA (AP) – A strong, shallow earthquake toppled buildings and collapsed walls on Indonesia’s densely populated main island of Java yesterday, killing at least 62 and injuring hundreds as people rushed into the streets, some covered in blood and white debris.
Emergency workers treated the injured on stretchers and blankets outside main hospitals, on terraces and in parking lots. Many included children, some of whom were given oxygen masks, IV lines and were being resuscitated.
“I fainted. It was very strong,” said Hasan, a construction worker who is being treated at the Cianjur Regional Hospital. “I saw my friends running to escape from the building. But I was too late to get out and was hit by the wall.”
Residents, some crying with children in their arms, fled damaged homes after the 5.6 magnitude quake shook the Cianjur region in West Java province in late afternoon, at a depth of 10 kilometres. It also caused panic in the greater Jakarta area, where high-rises swayed and some were evacuated. Rescue teams and civilians in Cianjur were looking for others who may have been buried in the debris of collapsed brick houses.
The quake was powerful enough to bring down walls, chunks of concrete and roof tiles, some of which landed inside bedrooms.
Head of Cianjur regency Herman Suherman said the death toll reached 62 as of yesterday evening.
