PADANG, Indonesia — Rescue workers pulled victims, some screaming in pain, from the heavy rubble of buildings felled by a powerful earthquake that a government official said killed at least 777 people. The U.N. put the death toll at 1,100 and said it was likely to rise.
The brunt of Wednesday’s 7.6-magnitude earthquake, which originated in the sea off Sumatra island, appeared to have been borne by the city of Padang, where a government official said most the deaths occurred.
The region was jolted by another powerful earthquake Thursday morning, causing damage but no reported fatalities.
More than 500 buildings, including hotels, schools, hospitals and a mall, were destroyed or damaged in Padang. Thousands of people were still believed to be trapped in the rubble, said Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry’s crisis center. Workers used backhoes to shift debris.
“Oh God, help me! Help me!” Friska Yuniwati, a 30-year-old woman, screamed in pain, as she was carried to an ambulance in downtown Padang. She had been pulled out minutes earlier from the rubble of a house, her face covered in bruises and her eyes shut.
Padang’s state-run Djamil Hospital was overwhelmed by the influx of victims and families. Dozens of injured people were being treated under tents outside the hospital, which was itself damaged.
