Death toll from the powerful earthquake that hit Lombok Island in Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province has reached 259 as of Thursday, authorities said.

　　An Indonesian search and rescue team uses heavy equipment to search for earthquake victims in Tanjung on Lombok island on August 9, 2018. [photo: VCG]

　　The number may rise further with more deaths discovered as rescue efforts for those trapped under collapsed buildings continue, they said.

　　After a meeting attended by representatives of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), military, police, the Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) held in main rescue post command located in Tanjung district, North Lombok regency, BNPB Spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the official death toll figure has been approved by the representatives during the meeting.

　　"The figure may rise as identification process on bodies discovered by the rescue team from under the debris was still underway at present, plus reports from locals over the ones still buried under the rubbles and unreported burial of the killed ones," Sutopo said.

　　He said efforts to search more bodies from under the collapsed buildings were being intensified.

　　Citing the updated data, he added that 1,033 suffered from major injuries from Sunday's earthquake and 270,168 have been displaced, who are being sheltered in random places.

　　North Lombok was identified to have the most deaths at 212, followed by West Lombok, East Lombok, Central Lombok regencies, provincial capital of Mataram, and Bali's Denpasar.

　　Sutopo said efforts to distribute supplies for the displaced ones were also intensified.