Indonesia earthquake: Many schoolchildren killed in building collapses

Many of those killed and injured successful a large earthquake connected the Indonesian land of Java were children who were astatine schoolhouse erstwhile it hit, rescuers say.

Aprizal Mulyadi, 14, said helium was trapped aft "the country collapsed and my legs were buried nether the rubble".

He said helium was pulled to information by his person Zulfikar, who past aboriginal died aft himself becoming trapped.

Search teams are scrambling to find survivors aft much than 100 radical died and thousands were near homeless.

The 5.6 magnitude quake struck a mountainous portion connected Monday, causing landslides that buried full villages adjacent the West Java municipality of Cianjur.

Victims were crushed oregon trapped aft walls and roofs caved in. "It each happened truthful fast," Aprizal told AFP quality agency.

A typical of the National Search and Rescue Agency besides confirmed that galore of the dormant were young people.

"Most of the casualties are children due to the fact that astatine 1pm, they were inactive astatine school," said Henri Alfiandi.

The earthquake, which struck astatine a shallow 10km depth, was followed by dozens of aftershocks which caused much harm to the country wherever poorly built homes rapidly collapsed.

In the colony of Cibereum, a household was trying to retrieve the assemblage of their eldest lad - a 28-year-old antheral who had been crushed to decease erstwhile the different levels of the location fell connected him.

Rescuers struggled to sift the rubble.

"We person to excavation done the factual of the 2nd level that crushed the victim. But we person seen the body," a subject official, First Sergeant Payakun told the BBC.

Authorities accidental astatine slightest 2,200 homes person been flattened and much than 13,000 radical evacuated.

President Joko Widodo visited the distant catastrophe portion connected Tuesday wherever helium was pictured with responders.

"My acquisition is to prioritise evacuating victims that are inactive trapped nether rubble," helium said.

Authorities person deployed hundreds of constabulary and different rescuers to portion to assistance the rescue effort.

Mr Jokowi besides pledged exigency resources and compensation to affected communities.

Indonesia's nationalist catastrophe effect agency, the BNPB, earlier connected Tuesday said the fig of confirmed deaths had risen to 103 with 31 radical missing. This fig is expected to grow, they person warned.

Earlier, the region's politician Ridwan Kamil had tweeted that 162 radical had died and astatine slightest 300 were injured - nevertheless that fig could not yet beryllium verified by the nationalist agency.

Earthquakes are communal successful Indonesia, which sits connected the "ring of fire" country of tectonic enactment successful the Pacific.

The state has a past of devastating earthquakes and tsunamis, with much than 2,000 radical killed successful a 2018 earthquake connected the land of Sulawesi.