Race to save Sumatra quake buried

Rescue teams have resumed the desperate search for survivors following a devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, BBC reported.

Many people are thought to be trapped under rubble after the 7.6-magnitude quake struck on Wednesday.

The death toll already stands at more than 1,000, according to the UN, and officials say they expect it to rise.

On Friday, Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari appealed for foreign aid to help the rescue effort.

"We need help from foreign countries for evacuation efforts," AFP news agency quoted her as saying.

"We need them to provide skilled rescuers with equipment. Our main problem is that there are a lot of victims still trapped in the rubble. We are struggling to pull them out."

The quake struck close to the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province, bringing scores of buildings crashing to the ground.

Overnight, rescue workers rigged up floodlights and brought in a giant excavator as they tried to find students trapped beneath a collapsed three-storey school.

The Jakarta Post reported that 60 children were in the building when it collapsed.

Police said on Thursday that nine children had been found alive but that eight bodies had also been pulled from the rubble so far.

Part of Padang's main hospital also collapsed and a makeshift open air morgue has been set up to take the growing number of yellow body bags.

Operations were being performed in nearby white tents.

"We have done hundreds of operations since the earthquake," said Dr Nofli Ichlas.

"Some broken bones, some with limbs completely cut off. Fractured skulls, abdominal trauma too."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono flew to the region after arriving back from the G20 summit on Thursday and stayed overnight to help oversee the rescue.