BFF-48 Sandals point to victims in mosque shattered by Indonesia quake

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BFF-48

INDONESIA-EARTHQUAKE, SCENE

Sandals point to victims in mosque shattered by Indonesia quake

LADING-LADING , Indonesia, Aug 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A shattered mosque in
quake-hit northern Lombok, where sandals remain scattered outside its
entrance, has become a focal point of the rescue effort after one weeping man
was hauled out of the wreckage.

An unknown number of worshippers were performing evening prayers at the
Jabal Nur mosque in the village of Lading-Lading on Sunday when the 6.9-
magnitude quake sent deadly tremors coursing through the ground.

Congregants described chaotic scenes as the shallow quake hit, bringing
down walls and bending the minaret. Some got out before the roof came down,
others did not.

“We were praying when suddenly an extremely strong shaking occurred,” Tara,
who like many Indonesians only has one name, told AFP.

“I immediately grabbed my grandson, who is three years old, everyone was
then scrambling to get out,” he added.

As many as 50 people may have been in the mosque at the time of the quake,
another witness named Kelana told AFP.

“Our imam ran, so the others followed,” the 53-year-old said, adding he
couldn’t tell how many people managed to escape.

Police, soldiers and volunteers have worked frantically to remove debris
from the site in scenes repeated across the picturesque volcanic island,
which draws holidaymakers from around the world.

On Monday there was a brief moment of success. Video posted by rescuers
online showed a dazed and disorientated man, dust-covered and still wearing
his prayer cap, pulled alive from the twisted remains of the building.

“You’re safe sir, you’re safe,” one rescuer said as the man burst into
sobs.

But the emergency crews have also had to contend with death. Three times
now they have come across and removed broken bodies crushed under the weight
of tonnes of concrete and rebar.

Rescuers have used concrete cutters and excavators to claw through the
rubble, while shattered roads had initially hampered efforts to bring heavy
machinery into the village.

Rescuers say they will not stop looking.

“We estimate there are still more victims because we found many sandals in
front of the mosque,” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo
Nugroho, told reporters on Tuesday.

Across much of Lombok, once bustling villages have been turned into virtual
ghost towns, with residents sleeping out in the open, scared to stay near
their shattered homes amid regular aftershocks.

Aerial footage filmed in Tanjung district in the island’s north showed
streets deserted, save for a few nervous residents and motorcycles passing
along the dusty main road.

Power lines have been toppled and many houses reduced to piles of stone and
plaster.

More than 20,000 people are believed to have been made homeless, with 236
severely injured. Officials expect the toll to rise.

BSS/AFP/IJ/1430 hrs