Death toll from earthquake in Indonesia's Java Island jumps to 318

The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Indonesia's province of West Java rose to 318, with 14 others still missing, a senior official of the country's disaster agency said on Saturday.

The 5.6-magnitude quake hit West Java on Monday.

Eight more bodies were recovered in the search operation on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 318, Deputy for Emergency Response of the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency Fajar Setiawan told a press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The quake also left 7,729 people injured in Cianjur district, one of the hardest-hit areas, destroyed 58,049 houses and displaced as many as 73,693 people, Setiawan said.

Spokesman of the Search and Rescue Office of West Java Province Joshua Banjarnahor said at the press briefing that rains had hampered the search and rescue mission for quake victims.

Rains are expected in the district of Cianjur within the next three days, according to the meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency.

--IANS

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