Indonesia: 14 killed, hundreds injured in Java earthquake

An earthquake has struck Indonesia’s main island of Java, officials say, killing at least 14 people and injuring hundreds.

According to data from the US Geological Survey, the magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck the city of Cianjur in West Java at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 mi).

The tremors were felt up to 100 km from the capital Jakarta, where residents of high-rise buildings were evacuated.

Officials have warned that the death toll could rise and there could be more aftershocks.

Videos on social media showed damage to homes and shops.

Hermann Suhrmann, a government official, told the Metro TV news channel that at least 300 people were being treated at a hospital in Cianjur.

Most of the injuries were fractures of bones sustained after being caught in debris in buildings.

According to local reports, rescue teams attempted to pull people out of the collapsed buildings and managed to rescue a woman and her child.

In Jakarta, office workers came out of buildings in the civilian and business district during the tremors, which lasted for about a minute.

Lawyer Mayadita Valuyo said, “I was working when the ground beneath me was shaking. I could clearly feel the tremors. I tried nothing to find out what it was, but It got even stronger and lasted a while.” AFP news agency. ,

An office worker named Ahmed Ridwan told Reuters: “We are used to these [earthquakes] in Jakarta, but people were just too nervous, so we got nervous too.”

Earthquakes are common in Indonesia, which lies on the “Ring of Fire” region of tectonic activity in the Pacific.