At least 193 dead, hundreds hurt in Indonesia quake

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, May 27 (Reuters) At least 193 people were killed and many more injured when an earthquake shook Indonesia's ancient royal city and tourist centre Yogyakarta and the surrounding area early today, hospital staff said.

Yogyakarta is on Indonesia's main island of Java and near Mount Merapi, a volcano that has been on top alert for a major eruption this month.

A vulcanologist in Yogyakarta said the quake was tectonic and not caused by the volcano, but the quake's impact could increase Merapi's activity.

The epicentre of the quake -- which happened just before 6 am (0430 IST) and had a magnitude of 6.2, according to the US Geological Survey -- was offshore. Jakarta earthquake centre official Fauzi said it did not cause a tsunami.

Yogyakarta is about 25 km north of the Indian Ocean coast and 440 km east of Jakarta.

Officials at six hospitals in and around Yogyakarta gave figures for the dead they had handled totalling 193.

The victims had generally suffered head injuries and broken bones from collapsing buildings.

''Most of them have wounds on their heads. The flow is not going down. The numbers are going to escalate,'' Subandi from the Bethesda hospital morgue in Yogyakarta told Reuters by telephone.

''However, everytime there is a tremor, hospital workers run out of the building,'' he added, speaking of the aftershocks that typically follow a large earthquake.

Witnesses said hundreds of houses had collapsed in the quake.

Office and government buildings were also in ruins.

Hospital patients had been moved outside due to fears of aftershocks.

Thousands of residents were taking refuge in Yogyakarta's main square while thousands of others were sheltering at compounds of scores of mosques, churches and hospitals throughout the region.

''We're still afraid. We don't want to go home,'' said Hendra, one of hundreds of people who took refuge at Yogyakarta's Marganingsih Catholic Church.

Jakarta earthquake centre official Fauzi put the quake's strength at 5.8 and said the epicentre was in the sea about 50 km south of Yogyakarta at a depth of 33 km.

There was widespread panic in Bantul, where at least 10 people were killed and hundreds hurt, and a desperate need for more doctors and nurses to treat the injured, said Kardi, the information officer for the hospital there.

A Reuters witness in Yogyakarta said many people there had fled their homes while thousands of others from areas near the city were trying to get into it to take refuge, many fearing a tsunami.

One Yogyakarta resident, Nani Kasidjo, said: ''I was having a morning walk and suddenly I felt dizzy and then people ran out of their houses screaming 'Earthquake!'''.

Yogyakarta's airport was closed due to damage to the runway, Hatta Rajasa, transportation minister, told Elshinta news radio.

Roads leading to the coast were cracked and power was off in some areas, witnesses said. Telephone communication was erratic.

Yogyakarta's royal palaces and the nearby Borobudur temple complex are prime attractions for domestic and foreign tourists, and many foreigners study the Indonesian language at schools in the city which offer intensive courses.

Indonesia sits on the Asia-Pacific's so-called ''Ring of Fire'' marked by heavy volcanic and tectonic activity.

REUTERS DKS KN1058