Search for survivors in Indonesia; over 3000 die

Bantul (Indonesia), May 28: Rescue workers dug desperately for survivors today as distraught residents returned to ruined homes on Indonesia's densely populated island of Java a day after a powerful earthquake killed more than 3,000.

Medical supplies and hundreds of body bags began arriving overnight at the airport of Yogyakarta city, about 25 km north of the Indian Ocean coast where yesterday's 6.2 magnitude dawn quake was centred just offshore.

In Bantul, which accounted for more than 2,000 of the deaths reported so far and where most buildings had been flattened, makeshift plastic tents dotted the roads outside ruined houses as residents combed through the rubble.

''I'm just here to look for something that I can use,'' said Ragil, standing beside the remains of his collapsed house.

Even so he was one of Bantul's luckier residents. None of his family was trapped in their home.

Throughout the disaster-struck region, many bodies were still buried under rubble as authorities struggled to bring in aid and search-and-rescue teams.

Doctors and medical volunteers, overwhelmed by the number of casualties, treated patients in the grounds of hospitals because of fear that aftershocks would cause more buildings to collapse.

''My grandson died and I had to dig out land for his tomb myself.

I don't know where it was,'' said Cipto Atmodjo, seated next to his son, who was lying on a cardboard box at a hospital in the ancient royal city of Yogyakarta to the north of Bantul.

His son suffered broken legs but they had not been properly bandaged.

Yesterday's dawn quake struck while many were still in bed, burying people in the rubble of their homes. It was the third major tremor to devastate Indonesia in 18 months, the worst being the quake on December 26, 2004 and its resulting tsunami which left some 170,000 people dead or missing around Aceh.

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

Although Yogyakarta city's infrastructure had largely returned to normal today morning, on the outskirts of the city electricity supply and telephone lines were still down.

In Yogjakarta a military Hercules plane carrying emergency supplies arrived at the airport, which has been closed for commercial use after the terminal building collapsed.

INTERNATIONAL HELP

The international community has rallied, offering medical relief teams and emergency supplies. The United Nations, which played a major humanitarian role in Indonesia's past natural disasters including the tsunami, has sent aid to quake victims.

UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, said it had sent staff to the scene and was providing thousands of tents, tarpaulins and lanterns, as well as equipment to ensure safe drinking water.

The official death toll stood at 3,002 today morning, unchanged from late yesterday, said the Social Affairs Ministry's disaster task force. That number was expected to rise as more bodies were uncovered and casualty reports received.

Yogyakarta stands near Mount Merapi, a volcano experts believe may be about to erupt. One vulcanologist said the quake had not been triggered by volcanic activity, but conversely that activity had increased after the shock.

A prime tourist attraction, Yogyakarta is home to ancient and protected heritage sites such as Borobudur, the biggest Buddhist monument on Earth, which survived the quake.

But the Prambanan Hindu temple complex near the city suffered some damage and local media reported that outer sections of Yogyakarta's centuries-old royal palaces had also collapsed.

REUTERS