The Indonesian government announced Saturday an emergency status in the southern Java province of Yogyakarta following an earthquake that killed at least 10 people and injured some 1,000 others.

"The emergency status applies," presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told local news website Detikcom.

He said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered related ministers and the provincial government to cooperate closely in handling the victims and providing humanitarian assistance.

Susilo would visit the province as soon as possible from his trip in the East Java town of Ponorogo, he said.

The local geophysics agency said the quake measured 5.9 on the Richter scale and was centered in the Indian Ocean.

Local hospitals in the province were suddenly packed by patients.

"Injured people keep coming in. The number has reached around 1, 000," said Eri Endarini, director of Yogyakarta's largest hospital Sardjito.

Source: Xinhua