Search for Indonesia quake victims underway on Independence Day

Rescuers in eastern Indonesia are searching for victims trapped under rubble after a deadly earthquake killed at least 53 people on Monday, as the country commemorates its Independence Day. The disaster in East Nusa Tenggara province is the deadliest since a 2022 quake that claimed hundreds of lives in West Java. The quake also triggered landslides and blocked roads in the province.

Thousands of people were evacuated and are now staying in tents, fearing aftershocks. Nearly 1,600 aftershocks were recorded in the province on Monday. One resident, 64-year-old farmer Firmus Woge, struggled with his asthma as buildings continued to shake around him. The search for survivors will continue on Monday using aerial monitoring and a helicopter.

Authorities have prepared planes to deliver food and tents. Indonesia will also set up an emergency field hospital in several areas. President Prabowo Subianto is set to preside over celebrations marking Indonesia's independence from Japanese rule in 1945 in Jakarta, about 930 miles west of the disaster zone.