Indonesia Earthquake Death Toll Passes 700

More than 400 people have been seriously injured, and the death toll is expected to rise past 1000, officials say. Photo by BGNES

At least 770 people are now known to have died in a powerful quake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday, the government says.

Rescuers struggled on Thursday to find survivors in the rubble of hundreds of collapsed buildings.

More than 400 people have been seriously injured, and the death toll is expected to rise past 1000, officials say.

The 7,6-magnitude quake struck close to the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province.

The earthquake brought down hospitals, schools and shopping malls, cut power lines and triggered landslides.

The social affairs ministry gave the latest confirmed death toll of 529, but Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's disaster centre in Jakarta, said: "Our prediction is that thousands have died."

A second quake of 6,8 struck close to Padang at 08:52 local time on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

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