At least 46 dead, over 700 injured as 5.6 magnitude earthquake jolts Indonesia

At least 46 people were killed and over 700 sustained injuries after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia for several seconds on Monday afternoon.

At least 46 people were killed and over 700 sustained injuries after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake rattled Indonesia's main island of Java for several seconds on Monday afternoon.

"There are 46 dead people at the Cianjur regional hospital and around 700 injured people. Many were hurt because they were hit by collapsed buildings," Associated Press quoted National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Suharyanto as saying.

Monday's quake struck on land in Cianjur, about 75 km southeast of the capital Jakarta, and at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the weather and geophysics agency (BMKG) said, adding there was no potential for a tsunami.

In a statement, the national disaster agency said several homes and an Islamic boarding school in the area had been damaged, as officials continued to assess the full extent of the damage.

Footage from Metro TV showed some buildings in Cianjur reduced almost entirely to rubble as worried residents huddled outside.

Muchlis, who was in Cianjur when the quake hit, said he felt "a huge tremor" and the walls and ceiling of his office building were damaged.

"I was very shocked. I worried there would be another quake," Muchlis told Metro TV, adding that people ran out of their houses, some fainting and vomiting in response.

In the two hours after the quake 25 aftershocks had been recorded, BMKG said.

In the capital Jakarta some people evacuated offices in the central business district, while others reported feeling buildings shake and seeing furniture move, Reuters witnesses said.

Indonesia straddles the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.