At least 162 people were killed and 700 others injured after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Java on Monday, the Associated Press reports.
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil told the outlet that “the majority of those who died were children,” adding that more than 13,000 people have been displaced by the earthquake. Additionally, at least 25 people were still trapped under collapsed buildings.
“There are still many residents trapped at the incident sites, we assume that the injured and dead victims will continue to increase over time,” Kamil said.
According to a statement from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the earthquake impacted West Java at 1:21 p.m. local time, hitting the Cianjur region, which is located about 47 miles southeast of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, the hardest.
The Cianjur district counts 2,272 houses, four government buildings, several schools, and a hospital among the area’s damaged infrastructure.
A government official in the Cianjur regency told the Washington Post, “The majority who died were hit by buildings. Some were hit on the head. All you can hear here is ambulance sirens everywhere.”
The news arrives months after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured hundreds of others in West Sumatra province. In January 2021, another 6.2-magnitude earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
