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Death toll may exceed 100 in Indonesian quake

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-07 14:00

JAKARTA: Rescue team have found 74 bodies of victims of 7.3 magnitude quake last week in West Java and still searches for 34 others being buried under the compact soil and big rocks, whom have a very little chance to survive, Disaster Management Agency officials said on Monday.

A woman carrying wall decoration walks past a damaged house in Pangalengan, West Java September 4, 2009. [Agencies]

The last week's quake has made a part of a hill in Cianjur district of West Java fell down and hit scores of houses on the slope.

"Since the first day of the disaster we can assure that there was a small chance for those buried by over one meter size rocks and soil to be still alive. And today has been the fifth day," Mumuh Munain, an official of the agency for West Java, told Xinhua over the phone.

Fears for the tremors and having no houses have led over 88,000 people took shelters at night, as the quake had seriously damaged 54,198 houses and about 118,545 others got minor damaged, spokesman of the agency Priyadi Kardono told Xinhua.

The aids availability has been sufficient, but the authority has got challenges to distribute them.

Related readings:  Indonesian quake leaves 57 dead, dozens missing  Indonesia quake death toll hits 44, likely to rise  Powerful Indonesia quake kills 34  Indonesia quake death toll 42, likely to rise Strong Indonesia quake kills 32, damages 1,300 homes

"With such challenging geographic condition it is not easy to bring the aids to the survivors. Besides, lack of personnel also hampered the effort," he said.

Indonesian health ministry has sent tons of baby foods and logistics and other assistance to the scene.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a special cabinet meeting in a palace in Bogor town of West Java on Monday for relief work of the disaster.

Previously, he said that Indonesia, which has abundant experience of having hit by catastrophic, including tsunami in Aceh that killed over 170,000 people in 2004, could address the current disaster impact by using national resources.