On the day after the devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java, which left many dead and injured, emergency services are still searching for dozens of missing people in the rubble. There was conflicting information about the number of victims on Tuesday.
While the national search and rescue service (Basarnas) continued to speak of 162 dead, civil protection put the number at 103. The authority also spoke of 31 missing people. Hundreds of people were injured in the 5.6 magnitude tremor, some seriously.
Entire cafe buried by masses of earth
According to army chief Dudung Abdurachman, the bodies of 14 people buried in a landslide resulting from Monday’s quake were found on Tuesday. “We are still looking for more victims,” he said. A whole café was buried by masses of earth. “We don’t know if anyone was able to save themselves from it.”
Responders used excavators and dump trucks to clear access to areas cut off from the outside world by mudslides. The destruction is massive.
The earthquake occurred on Monday afternoon (local time) about 70 kilometers south-east of the capital Jakarta at a depth of ten kilometers. The epicenter was near the town of Cianjur, which is also where the most severe damage is occurring.
