Over 50 dead, hundreds hurt in Indonesia quake

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, May 27 (Reuters) At least 51 people were killed and hundreds were injured when an earthquake shook the area around Indonesia's ancient royal city of Yogyakarta 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, but a vulcanologist in Yogyakarta said the quake was tectonic and not caused by the volcano.

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.

Sumarno, an official in the morgue at Sarjito hospital in Yogyakarta, told Reuters that 36 bodies had been taken to the morgue room there.

In the town of Bantul, just south of Yogyakarta, local hospital information officer Kardi said: ''At least 10 people are dead, hundreds are hurt''.

Earlier, a nurse at Muhammadiyah hospital in Yogyakarta had reported at least five deaths there from the quake.

It was not immediately clear how the deaths happened, but witnesses said many houses had collapsed.

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

Kardi said there was widespread panic in Bantul and a desperate need for more doctors and nurses to treat the injured.

A Reuters witness in Yogyakarta said many people there had fled their homes while thousands of others from areas around the city were trying to evacuate to it, 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!'''.

Indonesia's national airlines, Garuda, said Yogyakarta's airport was closed.

Roads leading to the coast were cracked and electricity was off, witnesses said.

Reuters DKS GC0850