Death toll tops 3,500 as quake devastates Indonesia's royal city

More than 3,500 people were killed and many more were missing last night after a powerful earthquake struck Indonesia's royal city of Yogyakarta, destroying buildings near ancient heritage sites that attract large numbers of foreign tourists.

As rescuers struggled to reach the region, in the heartland of Indonesia's main island of Java, thousands prepared to spend the night outside ruined homes or in the grounds of mosques, churches and schools. With hospitals overwhelmed, the injured awaited medical attention in the car parks, laid out on newspapers, straw mats and sheets of plastic. Some were hooked up to intravenous drips that dangled from trees.

"It's pitch dark. We have to use candles and we are sitting outside now. We are too scared to sleep inside. The radio keeps saying there will be more quakes. We still feel the tremors," said Tjut Nariman, who lives on the outskirts of Yogyakarta.

In Bantul district, which was worst hit, Subarjo, 70, sat sobbing beside the body of his wife. Their home was destroyed. "I couldn't help my wife," he said. "I was trying to rescue my children, one with a broken leg, and then the house collapsed."

In Kembang Songo village, Sarmiji, 44, said: "Everything is destroyed here. I have a neighbour whose 11 family members were killed instantly."

Thousands of survivors fled the city on motorbikes and in overloaded pick-up trucks, fearing a repetition of the Boxing Day tsunami that devastated Indonesia's Aceh province in 2004. Yogyakarta, the capital until independence in 1946, is located close to the sea and in the shadow of one of the world's most active volcanoes, Mount Merapi.

Merapi has been rumbling for weeks, and the region has been on high alert for a major eruption. But when disaster struck just before 6am, the source was offshore, below the seabed, rather than high on the volcano's peak. The earthquake, which left thousands injured, measured 6.2 on the Richter scale, according to the US Geological Survey.

Yogyakarta is close to the ninth-century Buddhist temple complex of Borobodur, Indonesia's second-biggest tourist draw after Bali. As the cradle of Javanese tradition and culture, it attracts thousands of overseas visitors. There was no indication last night whether foreigners were among the dead.

Much of the city and surrounding area lie in ruins, although early reports suggested that Borobodur is intact, as are Yogyakarta's royal palaces, situated in the old walled city. In the worst-hit central and southern districts, thousands of houses were flattened, together with offices and government buildings. Electricity was cut off, as were telephone lines. Roads and bridges cracked, and the airport was closed because of damage to the runway. As the death toll rose, mortuaries filled up, and mass graves were being dug.

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