Irwan Firdaus
Bantul, Indonesia
29may06
heraldsun


DESPERATE relatives searched rubble for survivors yesterday after a devastating earthquake killed more than 4600 people on Indonesia's densely populated island of Java.

The 6.3 magnitude quake injured thousands more and was the nation's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

It also triggered fears a rumbling volcano nearby would erupt.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said there were no reports of Australian casualties.

The earthquake struck at 5.54am Saturday near the famed Borobudur temple complex.

Survivors screamed as they ran from their homes, some clutching bloodied children and the elderly.

The worst devastation was in Bantul, where

80 per cent of the homes were destroyed and more than 2000 people died.

Residents started digging mass graves immediately, with family members sobbing beside rows of corpses.

Subarjo, a 70-year-old food vendor, sobbed next to his dead wife, his house destroyed.

"I couldn't help my wife . . . I was trying to rescue my children, one with a broken leg, and then the house collapsed," he said.

More than 400 aftershocks hit the region, the strongest a 5.2-magnitude tremor that struck two hours after the initial quake.

The quake was the most recent in a series of disasters to strike Indonesia -- from the 2004 tsunami that ravaged Aceh province to a widening bird flu outbreak to the threat of eruption from nearby Mt Merapi.

Australia trebled to $3 million its aid to Indonesia after the quake.

The epicentre was 80km south of the rumbling Merapi volcano, and activity increased soon after.

A large burst sent debris cascading 5km down its western flank.

The quake was centred about 9km below the surface, the US Geological Survey said.

As night fell across the disaster zone -- stretching across hundreds of square kilometres in Jogjakarta province -- tens of thousands of people prepared to sleep on streets, in rice fields and in back yards, fearful of aftershocks.

Power and telephone service was out across much of the region.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the army to evacuate victims and arrived with a team of Cabinet ministers to oversee rescue operations.

Jogjakarta is about 35km from the sea. In the chaos after the quake, false rumours of an impending tsunami sent thousands of people fleeing to higher ground.

The city is about 2000km southeast of Aceh province, where 131,000 people died in the December 2004 tsunami.

Many roads and bridges were destroyed in Saturday's quake, hindering efforts to get the wounded to hospitals. Hundreds of injured lay on plastic sheets, straw mats and even newspapers outside hospitals.

Bloodstains littered the floor at Jogjakarta's Dr Sardjito Hospital.

"We are short of surgeons," said Alexander, a doctor. "There are still so many critically injured people here."

As well as Australia's aid, Malaysia said it would send a 56-member search team, doctors and medical supplies. The European Commission said it would release up to $3.8 million in aid.

The World Food Program was sending a plane with two tonnes of medicine and eight truckloads of food.

UNICEF promised 9000 tarpaulins, 2000 tents, and health and hygiene kits.

Officials said the famed 7th century Borobudur Buddhist temple, one of Indonesia's most popular tourist attractions, was not damaged. ~ AP