Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) – At least 262 people have been killed in a tsunami caused by an underwater quake that struck the southern coast of Java island yesterday.

The seaquake followed an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale and was recorded 355km south of Jakarta, in the depths of the Indian Ocean. The two-metre wave struck the locality of Cilacap, known as the site of the national oil company Pertamina and for a famed tourist resort called Pangandaran. Communication to the area has been cut off.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the crisis centre at Indonesia's health ministry said the figures were compiled from six districts across Central and West Java provinces. "According to our data, 291 people have died, 295 are injured and 125 are missing," he said."Twenty tonnes of medical supplies and food had been sent to the affected areas from Jakarta."

Rescue workers fear many more people may be buried under the rubble left in the wake of the tsunami. The Red Cross said more than 28,000 people have been displaced.

Indonesia was the nation hardest hit by the devastating tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean in December 2004: 220,000 people were killed across the region, and 168,000 in Aceh alone.

The latest natural disaster to strike the nation was a quake which hit nearby Yogyakarta and Central Java on May 27, killing some 5,800 people.