Death toll in Indonesia earthquake rises to 162, hundreds injured, says report
Cianjur (Indonesia), Nov 21: 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 for the day and were taking extra lessons at Islamic schools, he said.
Cianjur is known for having a large number of Islamic boarding schools and mosques.
"So many incidents occurred at several Islamic schools," Kamil said.
He 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.
"I fainted. It was very strong," said Hasan, a construction worker who, like many Indonesians, uses one name.
"I saw my friends running to escape from the building. But it was too late to get out and I was hit by the wall."
Residents, some crying and holding children, fled damaged homes after the magnitude 5.6 quake shook the region in West Java province in the late afternoon, at a depth of 10 kilometers.
It also caused panic in the greater Jakarta area, where high-rises swayed and some people evacuated.
Rescue teams and civilians in Cianjur were looking for people buried in collapsed brick homes. In many homes, chunks of concrete and roof tiles fell inside bedrooms.
Shopkeeper Dewi Risma was working with customers when the quake hit, and she ran for the exit.
"The vehicles on the road stopped because the quake was very strong," she said.
"I felt it shook three times, but the first one was the strongest one for around 10 seconds. The roof of the shop next to the store I work in had collapsed, and people said two had been hit."
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said that the death toll reached 62 and hundreds were injured. More than 5,000 people are being evacuated.
Twenty-five people were still stuck buried in the debris in Cijedil village, said agency spokesman Abdul Muhari.
Several landslides closed roads around the Cianjur district.
Among the dozens of buildings that were damaged was an Islamic boarding school, a hospital and other public facilities, the agency said. Power outages were reported.
Ridwan Kamil, West Java governor, said that the local government, national police and Indonesian military were still gathering information.
"Because Cianjur is characterised by many places that are very remote, so we need that data to determine the situation," Kamil said.
Most of the victims and survivors were taken to the government hospital in Cianjur.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency recorded at least 25 aftershocks.
"The quake felt so strong. My colleagues and I decided to get out of our office on the ninth floor using the emergency stairs," said Vidi Primadhania, a worked in the capital, where many residents ran into the streets and others hid under desks.
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.
In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province.
In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
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Airlines got 999 hoax bomb threats till Nov 14 this year; 256 FIRs filed: Govt
New Delhi, Nov 28: Airlines received 999 hoax bomb threats this year till November 14 and as many as 256 FIRs have been filed while guidelines have been issued by aviation security regulator BCAS for objective assessment of threats, the government said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said a total of 1,148 hoax bomb threat messages/calls have been received since August 2022 till November 14, 2024 threatening the operations of international and domestic air travel.
While 999 threats were received by airlines during the period from January to November 14, 2024, the count stood at 122 last year and at 27 for the August-December 2022 period.
"256 FIRs have been filed since January 2024 till 14 November 2024, out of which 163 FIRs have been filed during 14 October- 14 November 2024. 12 arrests have been made in view of hoax bomb threat since January 2024 till 14 November 2024," the minister said.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued guidelines for objective assessment of threats. The indicative factor has been useful in reducing time taken by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) during the decision-making process.
"Also, to reduce the overall time taken for convening BTAC to less than 5 minutes, virtual assembly of BTAC through pre-generated video link has been set up. Further, advisories for compulsory 10 per cent of secondary ladder point check-in for all flights, strict monitoring of non-scheduled flight operations, enhanced security measures and surveillance at cargo terminals were issued," Mohol said.
Further, the minister said the government is considering amending the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023 to put hoax threat messenger in the no-fly list.
"It is also being considered to amend Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation for covering Aircraft in flight as well as on ground, airport etc," he added.
