President Sheikh Mohamed speaks with Joko Widodo after Indonesia earthquake

UAE leader offers condolences following disaster that caused at least 268 deaths

President Sheikh Mohamed and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Sheikh Mohamed expressed the UAE's solidarity with Indonesia in its time of need. Photo: Wam

President Sheikh Mohamed offered his condolences to Indonesia's President Joko Widodo on Tuesday following an earthquake that led to more than 260 deaths in Java.

In a phone call, Sheikh Mohamed said his thoughts were with the injured and reiterated the UAE’s solidarity with Indonesia.

He prayed to God to shield the country and its people from harm, state news agency Wam reported.

Hundreds of people have been injured and the death toll is expected to rise following the magnitude 5.6 quake near West Java on Monday.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said 151 people were missing and 1,083 were injured.

Hospitals in the Cianjur district of Java have been overwhelmed, and an estimated 2,000 homes have been destroyed.

Bodies continued to be pulled from the debris on Tuesday morning in Cianjur, the hardest-hit city, located in the country’s most densely populated province of West Java, about 217km south of the capital, Jakarta.

One Indonesian man lost 11 relatives in the earthquake, AP reported.

After finding his neighbourhood flattened, farmer Enjot desperately dug through debris looking for survivors, managing to rescue several.

“I heard them [other villagers] crying, screaming hysterically,” he said “I really cried seeing it.”

Near his home, an aftershock triggered a landslide that crashed on to the house of one of his relatives and buried seven people inside. Four were rescued, but two nephews and his cousin were killed.

In a neighbouring village, his sister, a cousin and six other relatives were killed when their homes collapsed.

“This is so terrible, what I went through with this earthquake,” Enjot said. “I had to lose relatives and my house was also destroyed.”

He has now joined thousands of other Indonesians living in tents or temporary shelters set up by volunteers, barely enough to protect them from heavy monsoon downpours, as they try to rebuild.