Patients are seen evacuated outside hospital buildings after an earthquake in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, Nov. 21, 2022. At least 46 people were killed and about 700 others injured after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's West Java province on Monday, officials said. The quake has also caused heavy damages to hundreds of houses, buildings and infrastructure facilities. The tremors were strongly felt in the national capital Jakarta. (Photo by Adam/Xinhua)
JAKARTA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 46 people were killed and about 700 others injured after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia's West Java province on Monday, officials said.
The quake has also caused heavy damages to hundreds of houses, buildings and infrastructure facilities. The tremors were strongly felt in the national capital Jakarta.
"The number of casualties reaches 46 now and there are about 700 others injured," head of the national agency for disaster management and mitigation Suharyanto said at an online press conference Monday afternoon.
Hundreds of wounded persons were treated at hospitals in the district of Cianjur in the western province, according to him.
The district is one of the hardest-hit areas in the earthquake, according to the country's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency.
Over 1,400 residents fled their homes and took shelters as their houses were destroyed by the tremors, Nena Fatimah, senior officer at the data and information unit of the district's disaster management and mitigation, told Xinhua by phone.
Rescuers have been deployed to the quake-affected area to search and rescue the quake victims, spokesperson of the provincial search and rescue office Joshua Banjarnahor told Xinhua by phone.
The quake struck at 13:21 Jakarta time (0621 GMT) with the epicenter located at 10 km southwest of the district of Cianjur in West Java province, and with a depth of 10 km, the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency said. ■