Children at school among 162 dead in Indonesia quake - Reuters

CIANJUR, Indonesia, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Children killed erstwhile their schools collapsed accounted for galore of the 162 dormant successful an earthquake that devastated a municipality connected Indonesia's main land of Java, an authoritative said connected Tuesday, arsenic rescuers raced to scope radical trapped successful rubble.

Hundreds of radical were injured successful the Monday quake and officials warned the decease toll was apt to rise.

The shallow 5.6-magnitude quake struck successful mountains successful Indonesia's astir populous state of West Java, causing important harm to the municipality of Cianjur and burying astatine slightest 1 colony nether a landslide.

Landslides and unsmooth terrain were hampering rescue efforts, said Henri Alfiandi, caput of National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

"The situation is the affected country is dispersed retired ... On apical of that, the roads successful these villages are damaged," Alfiandi told a quality conference, adding that much than 13,000 radical had been evacuated.

"Most of the casualties are children, due to the fact that astatine 1 p.m. they were inactive astatine school," helium said, referring to the clip the quake hit.

Many of the fatalities resulted from radical trapped nether collapsed buildings, officials said.

President Joko Widodo flew successful to Cianjur connected Tuesday to promote rescuers.

"My acquisition is to prioritise evacuating victims that are inactive trapped nether rubble," said the president, who is known arsenic Jokowi.

He offered his condolences to the victims and pledged exigency authorities support. Reconstruction should see earthquake-prone lodging to support against aboriginal disasters, helium said.

Survivors gathered overnight successful a Cianjur infirmary parking lot. Some of the injured were treated successful tents, others were hooked up to intravenous drips connected the pavement arsenic aesculapian workers stitched up patients nether torch light.

"Everything collapsed beneath maine and I was crushed beneath this child," Cucu, a 48-year-old resident, told Reuters.

"Two of my kids survived, I dug them up ... Two others I brought here, and 1 is inactive missing," she said done tears.

Footage from Kompas TV showed radical holding cardboard signs asking for nutrient and shelter, with exigency supplies seemingly yet to scope them.

Hundreds of constabulary officers were deployed to assistance the rescue effort, Dedi Prasetyo, nationalist constabulary spokesperson told the Antara authorities quality agency.

"Today's main task bid for unit is to absorption connected evacuating victims," helium said.

'SWEPT AWAY'

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said astatine slightest 162 radical were killed, galore of them children, portion the toll from the nationalist catastrophe bureau (BNPB) stood astatine 103, with 31 missing.

Authorities were operating "under the presumption that the fig of injured and decease volition rise", the politician said, with astatine slightest 1 colony buried by landslides triggered by the quake.

Cianjur constabulary main told Metro TV that 20 radical had been evacuated from the territory of Cugenang, astir of whom had died, with residents reporting missing household members.

The country was deed by a landslide triggered by the quake that had blocked entree to the area.

"At slightest six of my relatives are inactive unaccounted for, 3 adults and 3 children," said Zainuddin, a nonmigratory of Cugenang.

"If it was conscionable an earthquake lone the houses would collapse, but this is worse due to the fact that of the landslide. In this residential country determination were 8 houses, each of the which were buried and swept away."

Rescue efforts were analyzable by energy outages successful immoderate areas, and much than 100 aftershocks.

Straddling the alleged "Ring of Fire", a highly seismically progressive portion wherever antithetic plates connected the earth's crust meet, Indonesia has a past of devastating earthquakes.

In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake disconnected Sumatra land successful bluish Indonesia triggered a tsunami that struck 14 countries, sidesplitting 226,000 people.

Reporting by Tommy Adriansyah and Ajeng Dinar Ulfina successful Cianjur; and Gayatri Suroyo, Ananda Teresia, Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina Munthe successful Jakarta; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Ed Davies and Stephen Coates

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