At least 46 people died and hundreds more were injured in a 5.6 magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java on Monday (21 November), shaking skyscrapers as far away as the capital Jakarta.

"According to the latest data, 46 people were killed. About 700 people were injured," Herman Suherman, chief administrative officer of the city of Cianjur in West Java, told Metro TV, referring to the continued influx. of victims.

Shops, a hospital and an Islamic boarding school in the city suffered extensive damage as a result of the earthquake, according to local press.

Media showed several buildings in Cianjur whose roofs had collapsed.

Herman Suherman also reported that relatives of the victims were gathered at Sayang Hospital, warning that the toll could rise as villagers could still be trapped in the rubble.

"There are many families in villages that have not yet been evacuated."

Authorities earlier reported rescuing a woman and baby trapped in a landslide in Cianjur.

"We urge people to stay outside buildings for the time being as there could be possible aftershocks," Indonesian meteorological agency director Dwikorita Karnawati told reporters.

Buildings evacuated in Jakarta             

The epicenter was located near this city some 100 kilometers south of Jakarta, according to the United States Institute of Geological Studies (USGS).

The American geological survey USGS had initially estimated the magnitude of the earthquake at 5.4.

No casualties or major damage were reported in Jakarta immediately but in the capital, people rushed out of buildings.

Mayadita Waluyo, a 22-year-old lawyer, described the panic of employees rushing to the emergency exits.

"I was working when the ground shook. I could clearly feel the shaking," she said.

Hundreds of people waited outside after the quake, some wearing protective helmets to protect themselves from falling debris, an AFP journalist reported.

Indonesia is regularly confronted with earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, due to its position on the Pacific "ring of fire" where the tectonic plates meet.

In 2018, the island of Lombok and the neighboring island of Sumbawa were hit by a violent earthquake which killed more than 550 people.

In the same year, another earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 triggered a tsunami that hit Palu, on the island of Sulawesi, killing or missing 4,300 people.

The country is also marked by the earthquake of December 26, 2004 with a magnitude of 9.1 off the coast of Sumatra.

It caused a major tsunami that killed 220,000 people across the region, including 170,000 in Indonesia alone, one of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded.

With AFP

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