<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Many children killed when their schools collapsed are among the 252 dead from an earthquake that devastated a town on Indonesia's main island of Java, officials said on Tuesday, as rescuers raced to reach people trapped in the rubble.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds of people were injured in the Monday quake and officials warned the death toll was likely to rise.</div><div><br></div><div>The shallow 5.6-magnitude quake struck in mountains in Indonesia's most populous province of West Java, causing significant damage to the town of Cianjur and burying at least one village under a landslide.</div><div><br></div><div>Landslides and rough terrain were hampering rescue efforts, said Henri Alfiandi, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).</div><div><br></div><div>"The challenge is the affected area is spread out ... On top of that, the roads in these villages are damaged," Alfiandi told a news conference, adding that more than 13,000 people had been evacuated.</div><div><br></div><div>"Most of the casualties are children, because at 1 pm they were still at school," he said, referring to the time the quake hit.</div><div><br></div><div>Many of the fatalities resulted from people trapped under collapsed buildings, officials said.</div><div><br></div><div>President Joko Widodo flew into Cianjur on Tuesday to encourage rescuers.</div><div><br></div><div>"My instruction is to prioritise evacuating victims that are still trapped under rubble," said the president, who is known as Jokowi.</div><div><br></div><div>He offered his condolences to the victims and pledged emergency government support. Reconstruction should include earthquake-proof housing, he said.</div><div><br></div><div>Survivors gathered overnight in a Cianjur hospital parking lot. Some of the injured were treated in tents, others were hooked up to intravenous drips on the pavement as medical workers stitched up patients under torchlight.</div><div><br></div><div>"Everything collapsed beneath me and I was crushed beneath this child," Cucu, a 48-year-old resident, told Reuters.</div><div><br></div><div>"Two of my kids survived, I dug them up ... Two others I brought here, and one is still missing," she said through tears.</div><div><br></div><div>"Many dead bodies are lying on the hospital grounds, it's very crowded," said her relative, Hesti.</div><div><br></div><div>Footage from Kompas TV showed people holding cardboard signs asking for food and shelter, with emergency supplies seemingly yet to reach them.</div><div><br></div><div>Hundreds of police officers were deployed to help the rescue effort, Dedi Prasetyo, a national police spokesperson told the Antara state news agency, reports Reuters&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>"Today's main task order for personnel is to focus on evacuating victims," he said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>