West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed 56 deaths from the quake, whose epicentre was the town of Cianjur, about 75km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta.
No fewer than 50 people have been reportedly killed while hundreds were wounded after a 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s West Java province on Monday.
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed 56 deaths from the quake, whose epicentre was the town of Cianjur, about 75km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta, according to BBC.
It was learnt that the 5.6 magnitude quake struck at a shallow depth of 10km (six miles), according to US Geological Survey data.
The national disaster agency (BNPB), whose data lagged behind local officials on the ground on Monday, told a news conference up to 700 people had been injured and more than 300 homes damaged or destroyed.
Electricity was down in the area and disrupting communications efforts, Herman Suherman, a government official from Cianjur, said, adding that people in the area of Cugenang were unable to be evacuated because of a landslide blocking access.
Footage from news channel Metro TV showed what appeared to be hundreds of victims being treated in one hospital car park and some buildings in Cianjur reduced almost entirely to rubble as worried residents huddled outside.
Officials warn of possible aftershocks and say the death toll could rise.
The area where the quake struck is densely populated and prone to landslides, with poorly-built houses. Rescuers have been trying to evacuate people from collapsed buildings, and managed to save a woman and her baby, according to local reports.
AFP news agency had earlier quoted Herman Suherman, the head of administration in Cianjur town, as saying most injuries were bone fractures sustained from people being trapped by debris in buildings.
"The ambulances keep on coming from the villages to the hospital," he said. "There are many families in villages that have not been evacuated."
He said more health workers were needed to deal with the overwhelming number of patients and that electricity was down in the area, leaving doctors at the main hospital unable to operate on patients.
Dozens of buildings had been damaged in Cianjur region, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement. They include a hospital and an Islamic boarding school.