Nearly 20 people have been killed and at least 300 injured in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, a local official from the town worst-hit by the tremors told. “The information I got for now, in this hospital alone, nearly 20 died and at least 300 people are being treated. Most of them had fractures from being trapped by the ruins of buildings,” the head of Cianjur’s administration, Herman Suherman, told.

The quake had a magnitude of 5.4 and struck near towns south of Jakarta, according to the United States Geological Survey. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency had earlier said the quake had a magnitude of 5.6 and struck near Cianjur, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Jakarta.

People rushed out of buildings in Jakarta after the quake shook the Indonesian capital. Mayadita Waluyo, a 22-year-old lawyer, described how panicked workers ran for the exits of their building as the quake struck. “I was working when the floor under me was shaking. I could feel the tremor clearly.

I tried to do nothing to process what it was but it became even stronger and lasted for some time,” she said. “I feel a bit dizzy now and my legs are also a bit cramped because I had to walk downstairs from the 14th floor.” Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP