Indonesia earthquake: aid begins to arrive as death toll rises

Aid has started to arrive in isolated areas of the Indonesian island of Lombok, following an earthquake that killed at least 131 people, as rescuers continued to find bodies in the rubble.

Volunteers and rescue workers were putting up more temporary shelters on Wednesday for the tens of thousands of people left homeless by the magnitude-6.9 quake on Sunday evening. Water, food and medical supplies were being distributed from lorries.

The military said five planes carrying food, medicine, blankets, field tents and water tankers left the capital, Jakarta, for the island early on Wednesday.

A woman’s body was recovered from the rubble of a collapsed mosque in Bangsal district, in the north of the island.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster agency, said the death toll had risen from 105 on Tuesday.

He told a news conference that reports of other deaths still needed to be verified. The number is expected to increase, he said.

Nearly 2,500 people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries and more than 156,000 people are displaced due to the extensive damage to thousands of homes.

Authorities said about 5,000 tourists who wanted to be evacuated from three outlying holiday islands had left by boat.