A second powerful earthquake rocked western Indonesia today as rescuers struggled to reach survivors of the previous day's quake, which killed more than 500 people and left thousands trapped under collapsed buildings.
The death toll from yesterday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra island was expected to rise as rescuers dig through the rubble, sometimes by hand, in heavily populated cities. The latest, 6.8-magnitude quake damaged hundreds of additional buildings, and communications remained cut in some areas.
"Let's not underestimate (the disaster). Let's be prepared for the worst. We will do everything we can to help the victims," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in Jakarta before flying to Padang.
A total of 529 people were confirmed dead and 440 were seriously injured, the Social Affairs Ministry's crisis centre said.
It said 376 deaths occurred in Padang, a coastal city of 900,000 and capital of West Sumatra province. The rest were in four surrounding districts.
Thousands were believed trapped, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis centre. A foot could be seen sticking from one pile of rubble.
The president ordered the military to deploy all its crisis centres in Jakarta, West Sumatra and North Sumatra provinces and said the military will provide earth-moving equipment to clear the rubble.
At least 80 people were missing at the 5-story Ambacang hotel in downtown Padang, said Indra, a paramedic who uses only one name. Rescuers, working in heavy rain, found two survivors and nine bodies in the hotel's rubble.
Terrified residents who spent a restless night were jolted by the fresh tremor today morning.
The US Geological Survey said the inland quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit about 240 kilometres south of Padang at a depth of just under 24 kilometres.
The second quake reportedly damaged 30 houses in Jambi, another Sumatran town. It was not yet clear if there were injuries, said Jambi Mayor Hasfiah, who uses only one name, like many Indonesians.
Collapsed or seriously damaged buildings in Padang included hospitals, mosques, a school and a mall. TVOne network footage showed heavy equipment breaking through layers of cement in search of more than 30 students it said were missing from the school where they were taking after-school classes.
Parents of missing students stayed up all night, waiting for signs of life under the rubble.
"My daughter's face keeps appearing in my eyes ... my mind. I cannot sleep, I'm waiting here to see her again," a woman, who identified herself only as Imelda, told TVOne, tears rolling down her face. She said her 12-year-old daughter Yolanda was in school to take science lessons.
