Quake death toll climbs to 739

The West Sumatra disaster management coordination unit recorded on Wednesday 739 deaths from last week’s devastating earthquake in West Sumatra, with 296 others still missing.

Search teams discovered 335 bodies in Padang Pariaman regency, 309 in the provincial capital of Padang, 43 in Agam regency, 37 in Pariaman municipality, 7 in Pesisir Selatan regency, 3 in Solok, and 3 in Pasaman Barat regency.

The board also said 863 residents suffered major serious wounds while 1,336 others were slightly injured, Antara news agency reported.

According to the unit, the quake destroyed 212,679 houses, moderately damaged 55,206 and lightly damaged 57,510 others.

The quake has so far caused Rp 2.18 trillion (US$231 million) in material losses.