JAKARTA – A shallow 5.6-magnitude quake rattled Indonesias West Java on Monday, sending tremors as far as Jakarta, and killing at least 62 people, injuring hundreds others, and damaging scores of buildings.

Strong tremors lasting 10 to 15 seconds saw panicky people fleeing their homes in West Javas Cianjur regency, just 10km away from the epicentre of the land quake that struck at 1.21pm local time (2.21pm Singapore time).

Indonesias Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said on Monday night that 62 people have died, while 25 people were still trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Earlier, Cianjur Regent Herman Suherman said 40 children were among the dead, while at least 700 were injured, many of them suffering broken bones from falling rubble.

More than 2,270 houses were damaged, as well as a boarding school, a hospital, and three educational facilities. BNPB said almost 5,400 displaced residents were scattered in different areas.

Landslides after the quake left a number of cars buried, and blocked off cross-provincial roads in Cianjur regency. Electricity was cut off in several areas.

Many roads are cut off such that cars and motorbikes cannot pass. Village heads in Cianjur reported that they needed heavy equipment to clear debris from damaged buildings and landslides, Mr Hermansaid.

Television footage showed people and children panicking as they poured onto the streets, some crying and bleeding from head injuries. Victims were seen being treated at the Dr Hafiz Hospitals car park in Cianjur.

Cianjur resident Jajang, 51, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name, told Kompas.com that he was at a car repair shop when the quake struck. He managed to escape as the walls started to crumble.

Without warning, I felt the building shake a little and start to collapse, he said. I rode a motorbike to the health centre, with my face totally covered in blood.

Another resident, Ai Rohmah, 47, told the same news portal that she was trapped in her house by a refrigerator and falling bricks, and had to be rescued by her neighbours.

Major GeneralSuharyanto, head of BNPB, told the media earlier: We are continuing to update figures and the number of victims are expected to rise.

Some areas in Cianjur remained isolated due to landslides blocking roads.

Aftershocks were also felt in the surrounding West Java regencies including Sukabumi, Bogor and Bandung, and in the capital Jakarta about 100km north. Lower intensity tremors were still being felt on the ground on Monday night, the authorities said.

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