Relief efforts focus on collapsed mosque close to epicentre of Sunday’s quake as tourists flee Gili islands

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Rescuers in Lombok are still pulling people out alive from the rubble two days after a deadly earthquake struck the Indonesian island, causing widespread damage and panic.

The 6.9-magnitude quake that struck early on Sunday evening killed 105 people, injured more than 236 others, and destroyed thousands of homes.

Search and rescue teams have been working to access those in the worst-affected areas, close to the epicentre in northern Lombok.

Play Video 0:13 Hundreds of tourists in Lombok evacuated after quake – video

In the northern village of Lading-Lading the local mosque was entirely flattened. People had been performing evening prayers when the roof caved in on top of them.

Disaster officials have not said how many people they believe are buried beneath the ruins of the mosque, but the village head, Budhiawan, said there were about 30, based on unclaimed belongings left outside the mosque.

A video released by Indonesia’s disaster agency showed military officers propping up a distressed victim, as he staggered out of the mosque debris in an Islamic robe.

“You’re safe, mister,” said one of the soldiers as emotion overcame the man and villagers crowded around him.

On his Twitter account the disaster agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho wrote: “Praise God there are still victims that can be rescued from the collapsed mosque rocked by the earthquake … Hopefully a lot more can be saved.”

Efforts to identify and rescue all victims were initially hampered by power outages, disrupted phone signals, broken bridges and split roads.

A state of emergency was declared in Lombok until 11 August as Indonesia’s disaster agency, military, police, volunteers and various government ministries worked to address immediate needs, including providing shelter, water and food.

Sunday’s earthquake triggered at least 230 aftershocks, which were expected to continue for the next two weeks.



The US Geological survey reported a 5.2-magnitude earthquake just off the coast of Lombok between the tourist town of Senggigi and the Gili Islands on Monday night at 23.50pm local time. It also reported a 5.4-magnitude quake at 2.21am on Tuesday, close to the site of Sunday’s 6.9-magnitude quake.

Lombok had already been hit by a 6.4 quake on 29 July that killed 17 people and briefly stranded several hundred trekkers on the slopes of the volcano, Mount Rinjani.

Oxfam said more than 20,000 people were in temporary shelters and thousands more were camping out in the open. It said clean drinking water was scarce because of a recent spell of extremely dry weather in Lombok. Food, medical supplies, tarpaulins and clothes are also urgently needed, it said.

Panicked tourists flocked to Lombok’s international airport in the south of the island on Monday, many sleeping on the airport floor overnight.

An estimated 2,700 foreign and domestic tourists were evacuated from the Gili islands, three reef-fringed holiday islands with turquoise waters that are popular with travellers from all over the world.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tourists wait to be evacuated from Gili Trawangan off the coast of Lombok. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Arriving on the main island, tourists told stories of people climbing on top of each other in a mad scramble to get a seat on one of the rescue boats.

When the quake first hit on Sunday night and triggered a tsunami warning, panicked tourists fled to the highest points they could find, huddling in the dark as they struggled to get news of what was happening with the phone signal down.

To accommodate the influx of tourist trying to leave Lombok, more flights have been added and the airport is now open 24 hours.

“This is an emergency situation, many passengers are coming; hence [the airport] will operate for 24 hours,” Lombok international airport general manager I Ngurah Ardita told the Jakarta Post.

Overnight thousands of displaced residents camped out in makeshift tents by the roadside, including women and children, while hospitals were inundated with injured people.

Straddling what is known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of heightened tectonic activity, Indonesia is one of the most disaste- prone nations on earth.