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Officials say nearly 20 people were killed and 300 were injured in an earthquake in Indonesia

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday, killing more than a dozen people, according to a local official. Cianjur, a town in West Java, was the epicentre of the earthquake. According to Herman Suherman, a Cianjur government official, up to 20 people died at one hospital in the area. Buildings could be […]

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday, killing more than a dozen people, according to a local official. Cianjur, a town in West Java, was the epicentre of the earthquake.

According to Herman Suherman, a Cianjur government official, up to 20 people died at one hospital in the area.

Buildings could be seen shaking during the earthquake in videos widely shared on social media that could not be independently verified.

Authorities said they rescued two people who were trapped in a landslide in Cianjur, but a third person died.

“We managed to evacuate a woman and a baby alive, but the other one passed away. That’s the only thing I can share for now,” Cianjur police chief Doni Hermawan said, as per the reports.

Local media in Indonesia showed several buildings in Cianjur with collapsed roofs. The country’s meteorological agency warned residents in the quake’s path to be on the lookout for more tremors.

“We call on people to stay outside the buildings for now as there might be potential aftershocks,” the head of Indonesia’s meteorological agency said.

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