Indonesian strong quake toll reaches 57, dozens missing

A woman walks past the destroyed houses with her kid in Tasik Malaya of West Java, Indonesia, Sept. 3, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)

Earthquake victims rest inside a makeshift tent set up by local government after an earthquake in Tasik Malaya, West Java, Sept. 3, 2009. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

Indonesian earthquake victims rest inside a makeshift tent set up by local government after an earthquake in Tasik Malaya, West Java, Sept. 3, 2009. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

TASIKMALAYA, Indonesia, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The number of death toll of Indonesia's 7.3 quake climbed to 57 as the rescuers had to dig through rocks and debris to find more than 42 people missing in West Java on Thursday, the Disaster Management Agency said.

The strong quake on Wednesday has seriously damaged 11,039 houses and slightly destroyed 13,046 others, spokesperson of the agency Priyadi Kardono said.

The quake displaced 5,000 people and most of them lived in makeshift tents now, head of the crisis center of the Health Ministry Rustam Pakaya said.

Over 90 people suffered from serious injuries and about 400 others got minor injuries, he said. The quake also destroyed 16 health facilities, Pakaya said.

It was predicted 42 people were still buried under the debris of houses hit by landslides, he said.

"Searching for those who go missing is underway now," he told Xinhua.

The earthquake struck western parts of Indonesia on Wednesday, causing panic in some cities and potential for a tsunami, but the tsunami did not occur.

The quake struck at 2:55 p.m. Jakarta time (0755 GMT) with the epicenter at 142 km southwest Tasik Malaya of West Java and at a depth of 30 km, the meteorology agency said.

Indonesia with over 230 million people sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called the Pacific Ring of Fire, where two continental plates meet causing frequent seismic and volcanic movements.