Thousands people feared died after powerful earthquake in Pandang

Sinking feeling: Dozens of injured victims receive medical treatment at makeshift tents erected outside Padang’s Dr. M Djamil Hospital (right below), which also suffered major damage in Tuesday’s 7.6-magnitude quake. JP/J. Adiguna

The death toll from Wednesday's powerful earthquake in West Sumatra is believed to be in the thousands, as rescue teams struggle to dig people out of the rubble of buildings.

The Social Services Ministry’s crisis center said Thursday at least 529 people had been confirmed dead and 440 seriously wounded, while Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said in Jakarta before flying to Padang that the death toll could hit the thousands, given the widespread destruction.

“There are still thousands of victims buried or trapped under the debris of collapsed buildings,” West Sumatra disaster mitigation task force secretary Sudirman Gani said in the provincial capital Padang.

They may have died instantly when the 7.6-magnitude quake toppled hundreds of buildings across the bustling port city of 1 million people, he added.

Until late Thursday hundreds gathered around a building where some 60 elementary and high school students were attending extra-curricular lessons when the quake hit, sharing the despair and hope of parents watching the search and rescue work.

“We still heard cries for help as of last night but we can’t hear them today,” said Refi Effendi of the Padang police, detik.com reported.

The quake was felt across Sumatra, including in Medan, Bengkulu and Jambi, as well as in Malaysia and Singapore.

A series of aftershocks has hit the affected cities, while another powerful earthquake jolted Jambi early Thursday morning, killing at least one person and damaging 1,100 homes in the hardest hit district of Gunung Raya, local officials said.

The 7.0-magnitude quake hit at around 8:52 a.m., with the epicenter located 46 kilometers southeast of Sungaipenuh, Jambi, at a depth of 10 kilometers, said the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

Jambi’s Kerinci regency spokesman Amirsyam said many residents stayed out of their homes after the latest quake, while officials set up tents and public kitchens for displaced people.

Back in Padang, telephone connections were patchy, making it hard for rescuers to work out the extent of the destruction and loss of life.

“I've been through quakes here before, and this was the worst,” American Greg Hunt, at the Padang airport, told Reuters.

“There’s blood everywhere, people with their limbs cut off. We saw buildings collapse, people dying.”
A Reuters reporter in the city said rescuers were pulling people from buildings, but there was little sign of much aid being distributed yet.

Fuel was also in short supply and there was a report of looting, while some shops had run out of food.
President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono, who visited Padang on Thursday to see the devastation, said the country could coordinate the relief efforts itself, but welcomed help from abroad.

Australia, South Korea and Japan were among nations offering aid or help.

The President ordered the military to deploy emergency response teams from Jakarta, West Sumatra and North Sumatra.

A day after it was struck by the quake, Padang remained without electricity, state power firm PT
PLN said.

“Major power substations in Lubuk Alung, Padang Industrial Park, Pauh Limo and Simpang Haru are still down,” PLN corporate communications head Ario Subijoko said in Jakarta.

Padang’s Minangkabau International Airport was operating, although most of the people there were camped out on prayer mats after fleeing the city.

Many people trying to get a flight to West Sumatra were disappointed after arriving at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Thursday because tickets on all flights to Padang had sold out.

Syahrial, a would-be passenger, said he had asked at all the airlines' ticket counters at the airport and at several travel agents, but to no avail.

“I'll likely travel by bus to my hometown in West Sumatra, because I’m really concerned about my family and friends in Pariaman,” he said.

He added he had tried to contact his family in Pariaman since Wednesday, but mobile phone communication links were down.