Hunt for Buried Survivors after Indonesia Quake Kills 162

The search operation on Tuesday was made more challenging because of severed road links and power outages in parts of the largely rural, mountainous region.

By Tuesday morning, 89 percent of power to Cianjur had been recovered by state-owned electricity company PLN, according to state news agency Antara.

Those who survived camped outside in near-total darkness surrounded by fallen debris, shattered glass, and chunks of concrete.

Doctors treated patients outdoors at makeshift wards after the quake, which was felt as far away as the capital Jakarta.

Grieving relatives waited for authorities to release bodies from morgues to bury their loved ones in accordance with their Islamic faith.

One father carried his dead son wrapped in white cloth through the streets of his village near Cianjur.

Others searched for their missing relatives in the chaos.

Rahmi Leonita's father was riding a motorbike to Cianjur when the quake struck.

“His phone is not active. I am in a state of shock now. I am very worried but I am still hopeful,” said the 38-year-old, tears falling down her face as she spoke.

The devastation caused by the quake was made worse by a wave of 62 smaller aftershocks -- with magnitudes ranging from 1.8 to 4 -- that relentlessly shook Cianjur, a town of about 175,000 people.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday joined Canadian and French leaders Tuesday in offering their condolences.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

Source: Agence France-Presse