Indonesia hit by huge earthquake with at least 44 dead and vast destruction

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At least 44 people have been killed after a huge earthquake rocked Indonesia.

It is also thought that around 300 people have been hurt in the quake in West Java.

It registered at 5.6 magnitude on the Richter scale, with the Cianjur region located as the epicentre of it.

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Videos from the scene show multiple buildings levelled, with emergency services dealing with injured locals at the scene.

It is thought that tremors were felt as far away as Jakarta – around 75km away – with high-rise buildings and skyscrapers said to have been "shaking" for more than three minutes.

Many were evacuated for fear of structural damage, too.

Government spokesman Herman Suherman said of the current death toll: "This is from one hospital, there are four hospitals in Cianjur."

In total, around 25 aftershocks were recorded, according to the country's weather and geophysics agency BMKG.

Speaking to local news, Vidi Primadhania, an employee in South Jakarta, said, "The quake felt so strong.

"My colleagues and I decided to exit our office with the emergency stairs on the ninth floor."

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And a spokesman for the local administration in Cianjur said: "There have been dozens of people killed.

"Hundreds, even maybe thousands of houses are damaged.

"So far 44 people have died."

It was later reported by the United States Geological Survey that the 5.6 magnitude earthquake was caused by a 6.9 one around 212 km off the cost of Benkulu, Idonesia.

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