ASIA: 23 dead in Indonesia quake: official
Wed Sep 2 23:46:48 EST 2009
Wed Sep 2 13:46:48 UTC 2009
JAKARTA, Sept 2 AFP - At least 23 people were killed when a powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Java island on Wednesday, an official said.
"Twenty-three people have been killed. Most of them were trapped under their houses," disaster management agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono told Agence France-Presse.
He said 10 people were killed in Cianjur, eight in Tasikmalaya, three in Garut, one in Sukabumi and one in West Bandung. Another 5,000 people fled their homes fearing aftershocks in Cianjur, he said.
"The houses of some of those who died in Cianjur were buried under a landslide," Kardono said.
The quake struck less than 200 kilometres south of Jakarta at a depth of 49 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
People fled shopping centres and office towers in Jakarta as buildings shook for at least a minute about 3pm (1800 AEST).
Officials said dozens of houses and commercial buildings had collapsed in the worst-hit areas around the towns of Tasikmalaya and Sukabumi.
