A shallow magnitude 5.6 earthquake killed at least 56 people and injured hundreds when it damaged buildings and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s main island of Java yesterday, officials said.
Doctors treated patients outdoors after the quake — felt as far away as the capital, Jakarta — left hospitals without power for several hours.
“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.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He added that power had been partially restored by the evening, without specifying if through a generator or connection to a power grid.
The afternoon quake was centered in the Cianjur region of West Java, according to the US Geological Survey, with local authorities saying 56 people had been killed and more than 700 wounded.
“Because there are still a lot of people trapped on the scene, we assume injuries and fatalities will increase over time,” Kamil said as ambulance sirens blared throughout his news conference.
Photo: AP
The majority of deaths were counted in one hospital, Cianjur local administration head Herman Suherman said earlier, with most of the victims killed in the ruins of collapsed buildings.
He told local media that the town’s Sayang hospital had no power after the quake, leaving doctors unable to immediately operate on victims.
More health workers were urgently needed due to the overwhelming number of patients, he added.
Photo: AP
Kamil said multiple landslides had cut off road access to some areas and bulldozers were being used to open them up.
Thousands of houses could have been damaged in the quake, Adam, a spokesperson for the administration who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name, told reporters.
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