More than 160 dead and hundreds injured after Indonesia earthquake

More deaths expected as thousands of people displaced in mountain region

The death toll from a 5.6-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia has risen to 162 with hundreds more injured and over 13,000 people displaced, West Java governor Ridwan Kamil said.

The epicentre was said to be in Cianjur, a mountainous district home to more than 2.5 million people which sits some 75km southeast of capital Jakarta.

At least 700 were left injured by the earthquake and up to 300 homes were damaged or destroyed, the head of the country’s disaster agency BNPB said.

Many of the dead were pupils whose schools collapsed as they stayed behind for extra classes at the end of the scheduled day, Mr Kamil said.

More deaths were expected but no estimates were immediately available because of the area’s far-flung, rural population, which largely sits outside the district’s namesake town of 175,000.

Twenty-five people were still stuck buried in the debris in Cijedil village, the BNPB’s spokesman Abdul Muhari said earlier in the day.

The latest figures came after a government official, Herman Suherman, had earlier said that at least 300 were injured at just one hospital.

Wounded survivors of an earthquake are treated in the yard of a hospital in Cianjur (AFP/Getty)

He had pointed out that there were four hospitals in the area, in comments that indicate the casualties and those injured from the earthquake could rise.

Electricity was down in the area, something that was disrupting communications efforts, the official explained. He further said officials in the Cugenang area were unable to carry out evacuations because a landslide blocked access.

The magnitude 5.6 quake, centered in the Cianjur region in West Java province at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), damaged dozens of buildings and sent residents into the capital’s streets for safety.

A collapsed school in Cianjur after the earthquake (Reuters)

The quake was felt strongly in the greater Jakarta area. Some buildings in the national capital swayed, while some had to be evacuated, reported the Associated Press.

Shaking of several seconds was also felt in surrounding West Java areas like Sukabumi, Bogor and Bandung, reported The Straits Times.

Footage from the local Metro TV showed some buildings in Cianjur reduced to rubble and concerned residents crowding outside. Photos have shown intravenous drips being hooked on people who are being treated on sidewalks.

Dozens of buildings, including an Islamic boarding school and hospital, were damaged in the quake.

“The quake felt so strong. My colleagues and I decided to get out of our office on the ninth floor using the emergency stairs,” Vidi Primadhania, an employee in south Jakarta, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Rescuers remove the wreckages of vehicles damaged in an earthquake-triggered landslide in Cianjur (AP)

At least 25 aftershocks were recorded in the aftermath of the earthquake, according to the country’s weather and geophysical agency, known as BMKG.

Data on casualties and damage was still being collected, the BNPB said in a statement.

Indonesia lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, which makes the country with a population of 270 million prone to quakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.

It is, however, uncommon for earthquakes to be felt in Jakarta.