Indonesia quake deaths pass 500

At least 529 people are now known to have died in a powerful quake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday, the government says. Rescuers struggled on Thursday to find survivors in the rubble of hundreds of collapsed buildings. More than 400 people have been seriously injured, and the death toll is expected to rise, officials say. The 7.6-magnitude quake struck close to the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. The earthquake brought down hospitals, schools and shopping malls, cut power lines and triggered landslides.

The social affairs ministry gave the latest confirmed death toll of 529, but Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's disaster centre in Jakarta, said: "Our prediction is that thousands have died."

A second quake of 6.8 struck close to Padang at 0852 local time (0152 GMT) on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Heavy machinery

The first earthquake struck at 1716 local time (1016 GMT) on Wednesday, some 85km (55 miles) under the sea, north-west of Padang, the US Geological Survey said.

One of the worst disasters appeared to be the collapse of a school in Padang.

One mother, Andriana, told AFP news agency she had been at the school since the first quake occurred, hoping for news of her 14-year-old daughter.

"I haven't been home yet and keep praying to God my daughter is alive."

Police said nine children had been found alive but that eight bodies had also been pulled from the rubble so far.

David Lange, a doctor with Surfaid International, told the BBC one of the hospitals was "completely destroyed".

"They are trying to operate in the parking lot, in a tent, in the mud."

Earlier Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for Indonesia's National Disaster Agency, said more than 500 houses and buildings had collapsed.

The quake brought down telephone lines, severely affecting communications with the region and making it difficult to assess the scale of the damage.

Health ministry teams and Indonesian soldiers have arrived in Padang to aid the search for survivors. A shortage of heavy machinery remains a problem.

The first flights carrying food, medicine and body bags have started to arrive. Tents and blankets were also on their way to help the homeless, the health ministry said.

Padang's main hospital received a stream of ambulances bringing in victims. Relatives searched through lists of names pinned on windows.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang YudhoyonoSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono had called on his officials to "flood" Padang with aid