Rescuers in Indonesia are working through a second night to try to find survivors trapped following an earthquake in West Java. Officials put the death toll at 268, many of them children, with 151 still missing and more than 1,000 injured.

Damaged roads and the vast size of the affected area are making it difficult to locate and help victims.

 

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that 22,000 houses had been damaged, and that more than 58,000 people had taken shelter in several locations in the region. The 5.6 magnitude quake struck a mountainous region on Monday, causing landslides that buried entire villages near the West Java town of Cianjur.

A representative of the National Search and Rescue Agency also confirmed that many of the dead were young people. The earthquake, which struck at a shallow depth of 10km (six miles), was followed by dozens of aftershocks which caused more damage as poorly built homes collapsed.

In the village of Cibereum, a family was trying to retrieve the body of their eldest son - a 28-year-old man who had been crushed when the other levels of the home fell on him. Rescuers struggled to sift the rubble.

A military official said: "We have to dig through the concrete of the second floor that crushed the victim. But we have seen the body." Cucu, a 48-year-old resident, told the Reuters news agency that she survived after being crushed beneath a child.

"Two of my kids survived, I dug them up ... Two others I brought here, and one is still missing," she said through tears. "Many bodies are lying in the hospital grounds, it's very crowded," said her relative, Hesti. In one area, victims held cardboard signs asking for food and shelter.

President Joko Widodo visited the remote disaster zone on Tuesday where he was pictured with responders. "My instruction is to prioritise evacuating victims that are still trapped under rubble," he said.

Hundreds of police and other rescuers are taking part in the rescue effort. Mr Jokowi pledged compensation to affected communities. Save the Children said that at least 80 schools had been damaged.

A spokesperson said: "Children are terrified and we need to get food, water and shelter to them and ensure they're not at risk of separation from parents and caregivers." Earthquakes are common in Indonesia, which sits on the "ring of fire" area of tectonic activity in the Pacific.

The country has a history of devastating tremors and tsunamis, with more than 2,000 people killed in a 2018 earthquake on the island of Sulawesi.

Submit

In some cases a selection of your comments and questions will be published, displaying your name and location as you provide it unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published.

At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

The BBC retains the right to select from these contributions based on editorial requirements and subject to online terms and conditions and BBC editorial guidelines. For more information about how the BBC handles your personal data, see here.

Made with Hearken | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.