At least 1,100 dead in Indonesia quake: UN

UNITED NATIONS: The death toll from the major earthquake in Indonesia has risen to at least 1,100 and was likely to worsen, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said on Thursday.

"The latest figures we have suggest the death toll has risen already to 1,100," he told a press briefing. "Obviously many hundreds of injured people as well and again these numbers I fear will rise as more information becomes available."

Wednesday afternoon's 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings and led to fires in Padang, home to nearly a million people on the coast of Sumatra, leaving the city largely without power and communications.

Indonesian authorities earlier said the death toll hit at least 770 with 294 people seriously injured, but those numbers were expected to soar as the full scale of the tragedy unfolds. Many districts remain inaccessible to emergency services.