Earthquake kills 32 in Indonesia

A powerful earthquake struck Indonesia's main island yesterday, killing at least 32 people and forcing thousands more to evacuate their homes.

More than 1,300 properties were damaged as the 7.0-magnitude tremor shook buildings in the capital, Jakarta, and flattened houses in villages nearer the epicentre in West Java.

Nur Syara, who lives on the 31st floor of a building in Jakarta, said: "You could hear the walls creaking. I lay down on the floor. I was scared things would collapse."

The social affairs ministry placed the death toll at 32 last night. However, Priyadi Kardono, of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, warned that the total could be much higher because scores of houses and office blocks had collapsed or were badly damaged, and it was proving difficult to contact affected regions. "Communications with the coastal areas were completely cut so we don't know the conditions there," he added.

Many homes were reportedly buried beneath a landslide triggered by the quake. As the health ministry sent medical teams to West Java, the state news agency Antara reported that villagers were clearing away rubble from collapsed buildings to try to find survivors and bodies.

The tremor was felt in Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, about 300 miles away, and on the resort island of Bali, about 400 miles to the east.