At least 160 killed, 700 injured as earthquake jolts Indonesia

A strong, shallow earthquake toppled buildings and walls on Indonesia's densely populated main island on Monday, killing at least 162 people and injuring hundreds of others as residents fled into the street, some covered in blood and debris.

Officials were gathering information on the toll of those injured and killed by the quake in the remote area.

West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said the number of confirmed dead had risen to 162.

“The majority of those who died were children," he said.

Many were public school students who had finished their regular classes and were taking extra lessons at Islamic schools, he said.

Kamil said more than 13,000 people whose homes had been heavily damaged were being taken to evacuation centres.

Emergency workers treated the injured on stretchers and blankets outside hospitals, on terraces and in parking lots in the Cianjur region, about three hours drive from the capital, Java.

The injured, including children, were given oxygen masks and IV lines and were being resuscitated.

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Earthquakes occur frequently across the sprawling archipelago nation, but it is uncommon for them to be felt in Jakarta.

The country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin