Rescuers search desperately for survivors as Indonesian quake kills dozens of people

Rescuers have been desperately searching for survivors and the injured following a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off Indonesia's eastern Flores island, claiming at least 47 lives and injuring 50 people, according to disaster officials. The national disaster management agency raised the death toll from 40 on Saturday, with rescue official Fathur Rahman reporting 50 people injured.

Nearly 160 houses, numerous educational and health facilities, and other public buildings were damaged by the quake. Nearly 2,000 people were placed in temporary shelters by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and 50,000 aid packages weighing 275 tonnes were sent by the government. Europe also offered assistance from its Copernicus Earth observation satellites.

Residents reported feeling the earthquake as if they were on a trampoline, with many houses collapsing, leaving them trapped under rubble. Landslides blocked roads, complicating rescue efforts. Several aftershocks, the strongest measuring a magnitude of 6.1, continued to shake the island, and waves up to 1.6 meters were reported in some coastal regions.

While a tsunami warning was initially issued, it was later lifted, but authorities urged residents not to return to damaged buildings due to potential aftershocks.