Over 200 bodies pulled from rubble in Padang, death toll feared to exceed 1,000

At least 200 bodies have been pulled from the rubble so far in West Sumatra province's capital city of Padang with the death toll is feared to exceed 1,000 after a 7.6 magnitude quake hit off Sumatra island on Wednesday evening, the Jakarta Globe reported in Jakarta on Thursday.

"The rescue personnel in the location estimated that so far at least 200 people have died," Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said in Jakarta.

The powerful earthquake triggered landslides and trapped thousands of people under collapsed buildings -- including two hospitals, an official said.

The death number was likely to soar, officials said, as the first outside rescue teams from the Indonesian army and health ministry reached the city to reinforce overwhelmed police on the ground.

"We need heavy machinery to lift the rubble... we expect that to arrive at the location soon," he added.

The temblor started fires, severed roads, cut off power and communications to Padang, a coastal city with a population of 900, 000 on Sumatra island. Thousands fled in panic, fearing a tsunami.

The intense shaking made people crouched or sat on the street to avoid falling. Children screamed as an exodus of thousands tried to get away from the coast in cars and motorbikes with horns kept on honking.

At least 500 buildings in Padang, the regional capital, collapsed or were badly damaged, said Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono, adding that 200 bodies had been pulled from the rubble there.

The extent of damage in surrounding areas was still unclear due to poor communications, he said.

The shaking flattened buildings and trees in Padang, damaged mosques and hotels and crushed cars. A foot could be seen sticking out from one pile of rubble. Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told MetroTV that two hospitals and a mall collapsed in Padang.

"This is a high-scale disaster," Supari said.

Hospitals struggled to treat the injured as their relatives hovered nearby.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry's crisis center, said Wednesday that thousands of people had been trapped under the collapsed houses. It was unclear how many people were still missing or trapped by Thursday morning.