Deadly earthquake hits Indonesia

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Workers leave an office building in Jakarta after the quake

At least 15 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck near the Indonesian island of Java.

Dozens of properties collapsed in the city of Tasikmalaya on the west of the island and thousands of people have been evacuated, officials said.

The magnitude 7.0 quake also damaged buildings in the university city of Bandung, also close to the epicentre.

In the capital, Jakarta, 200km (120 miles) north, hundreds fled into the streets from offices and shops.

Landslide

One eyewitness, who gave his name as Jonathan, told the BBC News website he was on the 28th floor of an office block in Jakarta when the quake struck.

"I went into the meeting room and took shelter under the table. It went on for about a minute I think - scary.

"It was like being in a boat on rough water, the building swaying from side to side. The doors were flapping, books fell off piles," he said.

And in Bandung an eyewitness told reporters: "We were all studying and the building we were in started shaking for a few minutes and the ceiling fell."

Officials said dozens of people have been injured, including at least 27 in Jakarta.

Medical teams have been dispatched to Tasikmalaya, nearest the epicentre, where the damaged properties included the mayor's home and a mosque.

The epicentre was offshore, about 115 km (70 miles) south-west of Tasikmalaya, at a depth of about 50km (30 miles).

The quake was felt 500km (300 miles) away in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, and on the resort island of Bali.

The US Geological Survey lowered its magnitude reading from 7.4 to 7.0 and local tsunami warnings issued soon after the quake were later withdrawn.

In December 2004, an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people around Asia.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most active areas for earthquakes and volcanic activity in the world.

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