THE death toll from the earthquake that shook the Indonesian island of Java leapt to 268 on Tuesday as more bodies were found beneath collapsed buildings, and 151 people are still missing, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.

Agency head Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians only goes by one name, told reporters that another 1,083 people were injured in the 5.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Monday afternoon near the city of Cianjur.

The temblor sent terrified residents fleeing into the streets, some covered in blood and debris, and caused buildings around the rural area to collapse. In addition to those killed, authorities reported more than 300 people were seriously hurt and at least 600 more suffered minor injuries. In Cijedil, North-West of Cianjur, the quake triggered a landslide that blocked streets and buried several houses, said Henri Alfiandi, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency. With hospitals already overwhelmed, patients lay on stretchers and cots in tents set up outside, with intravenous drips in their arms as they awaited further treatment. Initial rescue attempts were hampered by damaged roads and bridges and power blackouts, and a lack of heavy equipment to help move the heavy concrete rubble. By Tuesday, power supplies and phone communications had begun to improve. Operations were focused on about a dozen locations in Cianjur, where people are still believed trapped, said Endra Atmawidjaja, the public works and housing spokesperson.