On the fourth day of an increasingly urgent search, Indonesian rescuers narrowed their focus Thursday to a landslide where dozens of people were believed trapped after an earthquake killed at least 272, more than a third of them children.
Many of the more than 1,000 rescuers were using backhoes, sniffer dogs and life detectors -- as well as their bare hands -- to search the worst-hit area of Cijendil village in mountainous Cianjur district where a landslide set off by Monday's quake left tons of mud, rocks and broken trees.
Suharyanto, chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said the rescuers are planning to use more heavy equipment to search the landslide after using maximum human power.
"Hopefully in the next two days, after the weather is good, we can use heavy equipment and more victims will be found," Suharyanto said.
Rescue efforts were temporarily suspended Wednesday as heavy monsoon rains fell.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Cianjur on Thursday and said rescuers will focus on one location where 39 people are missing.
"The search process will be our priority for now," Widodo said. "The soil is unstable, so you need to be careful," he warned.
He said distribution of relief supplies has been difficult because the injured and displaced are spread out and hard to reach.
"We hope all victims can be found soon," said Henri Alfiandi, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.
On Wednesday, searchers rescued a 6-year-old boy who was trapped for two days under the rubble of his collapsed house.
Data from National Disaster Mitigation Agency showed that 100 of the 272 confirmed deaths were children.
Monday's magnitude 5.6 quake injured more than 2,000 people, damaged at least 56,000 houses and displaced at least 62,000 people to evacuation centers and other shelters. The agency said 171 public facilities were destroyed, including 31 schools.
Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said the authorities will verify damage to houses to allow rebuilding to start soon and evacuees to return home.
An earthquake of that strength would not typically be expected to cause serious damage. But Monday's quake was shallow and shook a densely populated area that lacks earthquake-resistant infrastructure. Weak aftershocks were continuing Thursday morning.
More than 2.5 million people live in Cianjur district, including about 175,000 in its main town, which has the same name.
President Widodo has pledged to rebuild infrastructure and provide assistance of up to 50 million rupiah ($3,180) to each resident whose house was damaged.
Indonesia is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin known as the "Ring of Fire."
-----
Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta contributed to this report.
Eight people were seriously injured after a Laval city bus crashed into a daycare Wednesday morning, according to first responders. The driver of the bus has been arrested, according to Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that if he becomes prime minister he would uphold the 10-year deals Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking to ink with provinces and territories that would inject $46.2 billion in new funding into Canada's strained health-care systems.
With the hope of finding survivors fading, stretched rescue teams in Turkiye and Syria searched Wednesday for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The confirmed death toll from the world's deadliest quake in more than a decade passed 11,000.
An 'awkward' attempt at a handshake between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the prime minister Tuesday is another example of leaders from the western province hesitating before shaking Justin Trudeau's hand, say political experts.
Justin Trudeau has thrown in the towel in the fight to maintain the federal role as gatekeeper of a public, universal, accessible and fair health-care system in Canada, writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca. 'That could have tragic consequences for folks on the lower rungs of the social and economic ladder.'
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
According to newly released data, six provinces had increased wait times for walk-in clinics in 2022, with Canadians waiting an average of 37 minutes before seeing a physician.
Eight people were seriously injured after a Laval city bus crashed into a daycare Wednesday morning, according to first responders. The driver of the bus has been arrested, according to Quebec Public Security Minister Francois Bonnardel.
An associate of Ontario’s self-described “crypto king” was operating his own fraud scam parallel to the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, court documents allege.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that if he becomes prime minister he would uphold the 10-year deals Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking to ink with provinces and territories that would inject $46.2 billion in new funding into Canada's strained health-care systems.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought his daughter to visit troops to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the country's army as he lauded the "irresistible might" of his nuclear-armed military, state media said Wednesday.
An international team of investigators said Wednesday it found 'strong indications' that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the supply of heavy anti-aircraft weapons to Ukrainian separatists who shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 with a Russian missile.
New Zealand police said Wednesday they found more than 3 tons of cocaine floating in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean after it was dropped there by an international drug-smuggling syndicate.
Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for fighter jets to ensure his country's victory over Russia in a dramatic speech before the U.K. Parliament, where he also thanked the British people for their support since "Day One" of Moscow's invasion.
South Korea's opposition-controlled parliament on Wednesday voted to impeach the country's interior and safety minister, Lee Sang-min, holding him responsible for government failures in disaster planning and the response that likely contributed to the high death toll in a crowd crush that killed nearly 160 people in October.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that if he becomes prime minister he would uphold the 10-year deals Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking to ink with provinces and territories that would inject $46.2 billion in new funding into Canada's strained health-care systems.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will ask the provinces today whether or not they intend to accept the new health-care funding deal tabled by the prime minister.
A new coalition is calling on the federal government to invest $6 billion in its upcoming budget to develop an urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing strategy.
According to newly released data, six provinces had increased wait times for walk-in clinics in 2022, with Canadians waiting an average of 37 minutes before seeing a physician.
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.
Microsoft is fusing ChatGPT-like technology into its search engine Bing, transforming an internet service that now trails far behind Google into a new way of communicating with artificial intelligence.
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
While audiences rush back to theatres to catch 'Avatar: The Way of Water' on pricey Imax screens, the head of Cineplex Inc. says he's open to 'experiments' with cheaper tickets for some movies if they might lure back people who are staying home.
The only Black designer belonging to Italy's fashion council is withdrawing from this month's Milan Fashion Week citing a lack of commitment to diversity and inclusion, and on Wednesday announced a hunger strike out of concern that other minority designers associated with her will suffer a backlash.
A new poll finds one-third of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened over the last year. According to a Leger poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34 per cent of Canadian households say they're financially worse off compared with a year ago.
As Valentine's Day approaches, many Canadians are preparing to celebrate by taking their loved ones to dinner and buying them gifts, but how much are we spending on this day coast to coast?
A new ranking by global travel site Big 7 Travel has revealed the most Instagrammable places for people to visit in 2023, but only one Canadian location, Banff, is among them.
LeBron James is the NBA's new career scoring leader. With a stepback jump shot with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, James pushed his career total to 38,388 points on Tuesday night and broke the record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades.
Big name advertisers from Netflix to Google are paying as much as US$7 million for a 30-second spot during the NFL's Super Bowl championship game on Sunday, in order to capture the attention of the roughly 100 million U.S. viewers who tune in each year.
Surfer Bethany Hamilton says she won't compete at future World Surf League (WSL) events if it upholds its new policy on transgender athletes, saying she wants to see a different division created for transgender people to compete in.
Automakers Renault and Nissan on Monday formalized their reboot of a relationship that had grown rocky, culminating in the spectacular fall of top executive Carlos Ghosn, who had led successful turnarounds at both companies before his arrest and daring escape.
New research suggests that cutting fossil fuel emissions by adopting electric vehicles can improve air quality and potentially reduce respiratory problems in communities. But these benefits may not apply to all neighbourhoods in the same way.
Former NFL player Jim Bob Morris is heading to the Super Bowl in Phoenix from Bloomington, Illinois, in a newly refurbished set of wheels. His ride has new paint, new seating and even a new bathroom.
