At least 44 people were killed so far in a major earthquake in Indonesia, reports CBS News.
The quake hit the country on Wednesday and unleashed a mass of rock and mud that buried villagers alive in their homes.
The magnitude-7.0 temblor lasted nearly a minute and was felt hundreds of miles away. Many of the victims were in buildings that buckled during the jolt, and at least 10 died in their houses when a landslide slammed into their neighborhood. Dozens were reported missing and injured.
More than 700 structures collapsed or were badly damaged in towns and villages in hardest-hit West Java, said Social Affairs Ministry official Mardi, who like many Indonesians uses one name.
The Disaster Management Agency said at least 44 people died. With several dozen reported missing, officials said they feared the death toll would rise.
"The earthquake was shaking everything in my house very strongly for almost a minute," Heni Maryani, a resident in the town of Sukabumi told el Shinta radio. "I grabbed my children and ran out. I saw people were in panic. Women were screaming, and children were crying."
Hospitals quickly filled with scores of injured people after the quake struck just off the southern coast of Java, where most of Indonesia's 235 million people live.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful hoque
