Rescuers are battling dozens of aftershocks in the mountainous West Java region as the search for survivors enters a third day.
West Java Governor Rizwan Kamil told JEE News that around 140 aftershocks had been felt in the area since Monday’s quake.
At least 268 people, including many children, have been killed so far. About 151 people are missing and more than 1000 are injured.
Hundreds of responders have been sent to Cianjur to speed up the rescue.
But their efforts have been hampered by dilapidated roads and frequent earthquakes.
Mr Kimmel told JEE News that the local community was still reeling from the aftershocks, which in some cases had put responders at risk.
“The aftershocks [sic] are still happening,” he said, but added that he expected them to stop by Friday. “Currently we are coordinating [our mission] to focus on search and rescue…
Mr Kimmel told JEE News that rescue teams were still moving inland on foot and by bike, where roads were not always accessible, but that they also had helicopters to take the injured to hospital. can be delivered
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit the heavily populated town shortly after lunch on Monday, reducing several buildings to rubble.
Many people were crushed or trapped as walls and roofs collapsed. Officials said children were among the victims – about 80 schools in the area were affected.
“Most of the casualties are children because by 1 p.m., they were at school,” said Henry Alfendi from the National Search and Rescue Agency.
Aprizal Malyadi was at school when the earthquake struck, and was trapped after the “room collapsed”.
The 14-year-old said his “legs were buried under the rubble”, but he was pulled to safety by his friend Zulfikar, who later died after becoming trapped himself.
At least 58,000 people have been evacuated and dozens of refugee camps have been set up around the area, the governor said. He cited the National Disaster Mitigation Agency as estimating that 22,000 houses have been damaged.
The earthquake triggered landslides that buried entire villages in the mountainous region of West Java.
