Strong Indonesia Quakes Kill Hundreds, Traps More

PADANG, Indonesia — A second powerful earthquake rocked western Indonesia on Thursday as rescuers struggled to reach survivors of the previous day's temblor, which killed more than 500 people and left thousands trapped under collapsed buildings.

The death toll from Wednesday's undersea quake of 7.6-magnitude was expected to rise further after rescuers dig through the rubble in heavily populated towns of Sumatra island. The second, 6.8-magnitude quake damaged additional buildings Thursday.

A geologist looks at a screen showing the seismograph reading of a powerful earthquake that rocked Sumatra island at the office of meteorological agency in Jakarta September 30. (Photo: Reuters)

"This is a high-scale disaster," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told Metro TV.

Padang, a coastal city of 900,000 and capital of West Sumatra province, became the immediate focus of relief workers.

At least 500 buildings in Padang collapsed or were badly damaged in the Wednesday evening quake, which also set off fires, said Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono.

A total of 529 people were confirmed dead and 440 seriously injured, said Tugiyo Bisri of the Social Affairs Ministry's crisis center. He said 376 deaths occurred in Padang, with rest of the deaths in four surrounding districts.

At least 80 people were missing at the 5-story Ambacang hotel in downtown Padang, said Indra, a paramedic who uses only one name. Rescuers, working in heavy rain, found two survivors and nine bodies in the hotel's rubble.

Terrified residents who spent a restless night were jolted by the fresh tremor on Thursday morning.

The US Geological Survey said the inland quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Padang at a depth of just under 20 miles (24 kilometers).

The second quake reportedly damaged 30 houses in Jambi, another Sumatran town. It was not yet clear if there were injuries, said Jambi Mayor Hasfiah, who uses only one name, like many Indonesians.

Collapsed or seriously damaged buildings in Padang included hospitals, mosques, a school and a mall. TVOne footage showed heavy equipment breaking through layers of cement in search of more than 30 students it said were missing from the school where they were taking after-school classes.

In Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, the shaking was so intense from Wednesday's temblor that people crouched or sat on the street to avoid falling. Children screamed as an exodus of thousands of frantic residents fled the coast in cars and motorbikes, honking horns.

At least 500 buildings in Padang collapsed or were badly damaged, said Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono, adding that 200 bodies had been pulled from the rubble there. The extent of damage in surrounding areas was still unclear due to poor communications. Indonesia, a poor, sprawling nation with limited resources, was cobbling together an emergency aid response, and the government was preparing for the possibility of thousands of deaths.

Padang's mayor appealed for assistance on Indonesian radio station el-Shinta.

"We are overwhelmed with victims and ... lack of clean water, electricity and telecommunications," Mayor Fauzi Bahar said. "We really need help. We call on people to come to Padang to evacuate bodies and help the injured."

Hundreds of people were trapped under collapsed buildings in Padang alone, including a four-star hotel, he said. Other collapsed or seriously damaged buildings included hospitals, mosques, a school and a mall.

"I was studying math with my friends when suddenly a powerful earthquake destroyed everything around me," an unidentified boy told the TVOne broadcaster. He escaped out of the top floor just as the three-story structure, used for after-school classes, crumpled.

TVOne footage showed heavy equipment breaking through layers of cement in search of more than 30 children it said were missing and feared dead.

Thousands were believed trapped throughout the province, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis center.

Search and rescue teams were working in heavy rain when the second strong quake struck, causing widespread panic and badly damaging 30 houses in Jambi, another Sumatran town. It was not yet clear if there were injuries, said Jambi Mayor Hasfiah, who uses only one name, like many Indonesians.