JAKARTA, Sept 30, 2009 (AFP) - A massive earthquake wreaked havoc on the Indonesian island of Sumatra Wednesday, with officials saying it could have killed more than 1,000 people as homes and buildings collapsed.
At least 75 people were confirmed dead after hospitals and hotels crumbled, and as fires raged in the coastal city of Padang, home to nearly a million people, in the wake of the 7.6-magnitude quake.
"People are trapped, hotels have collapsed, schools have collapsed, houses have collapsed and electricity has been cut off," Vice President Jusuf Kalla told reporters in Jakarta.
Health Ministry crisis centre head Rustam Pakaya told AFP that a major city hospital was among the many buildings that had buckled.
"Houses and buildings have collapsed, causing thousands of people to be trapped inside in the rubble," Pakaya said.
Rescue teams and doctors had been rushed out overland and were expected to arrive in the city and nearby affected areas overnight, Pakaya added.
He said he expected the death toll to soar over 1,000 as rescuers reached the city, where communications and power had been cut off by the quake.
Three military transport planes had been prepared to deliver aid including tents, blankets and medicine, Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said.
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