Quake shakes Java, kills 44

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 44 people have been killed in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia’s main island Java on Monday, a local spokesperson told AFP.

“There have been dozens of people killed. Hundreds, even maybe thousands of houses are damaged. So far, 44 people have died,” Adam, spokesperson for the local administration in Cianjur town in West Java, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.

The epicenter of the shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake was located near the West Java town of Cianjur about 100 kilometers south of the capital, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Authorities said among the dead were one of three rescued people trapped in a landslide in Cianjur.

“We managed to evacuate a woman and a baby alive, but the other one passed away. That’s the only thing I can share for now,” Cianjur police chief Doni Hermawan told broadcaster Metro TV.

Other broadcasters showed several buildings in Cianjur with their roofs collapsed.

The country’s meteorological agency warned residents near the quake to watch out for more tremors.

There were no reports of casualties or major damage in Jakarta, where people rushed out of buildings.

Mayadita Waluyo, a 22-year-old lawyer, described how panicked workers ran for the exits of their building in Jakarta as the quake struck.