Man pulled alive from quake rubble
LADING-LADING, Indonesia — Soldiers have pulled a man alive from the rubble of a large mosque flattened by an earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok, while thousands of homeless villagers waited for aid Tuesday and stranded tourists camped at beaches and in the lobbies of damaged hotels.
The north of Lombok has been devastated by the magnitude 7.0 quake that struck Sunday night, killing at least 105 people, seriously injuring more than 230 and destroying thousands of buildings. Two days after the quake, rescuers were still struggling to reach all the affected areas and authorities expected the death toll to rise.
Disaster officials have not said how many people they believe are buried beneath the ruins of the Jabal Nur mosque in Lading-Lading but the village head, Budhiawan, said about 30 based on unclaimed belongings left outside.
Video shot on Monday by a soldier showed rescuers shouting “Thank God” as a man was pulled from a space under the mosque’s flattened roof and then staggered away from the ruins supported by soldiers.
“You’re safe, mister,” said one of the soldiers as emotion overcame the man, clad in Islamic robes, and villagers crowded around him.
About 90 personnel from the military, police and national search and rescue agency swarmed around the flattened building Tuesday, using cutting equipment to pry apart the tangled debris. By nightfall they were pulling out, saying that other areas, including another collapsed mosque, needed their heavy equipment and workers more urgently.
Muhamad Juanda, who narrowly escaped the mosque collapse, said 100 people were praying inside when the earth began to roll. Many got out but dozens were trapped, he said.
“When the earthquake happened, I stopped praying with dozens of other people. I stayed during the first shock, but the shock grew stronger and we rolled around trying to run out,” he said.
Two people were rescued from the debris Monday including a woman with a broken leg, said villager Supri Yono, and three were found dead. An AP reporter saw one body recovered Tuesday.
Aid organizations, already on Lombok after it was hit a week earlier by a 6.4 quake that killed 16 people, said they were stepping up their humanitarian efforts.