One of Indonesia’s most famous tourist attractions, the Prambanan Hindu temple complex, is likely to be closed for months after being badly damaged in the earthquake, a conservation expert predicted.

It is unclear what impact the earthquake will have on the tourism industry in a region that was considered to be Indonesia’s second most popular destination after Bali.

Prambanan, which was built between the eighth and 10th centuries and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, lies 16km east of Yogyakarta.

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YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia May 27, 2006 (AP)— A powerful earthquake flattened homes and buildings in central Indonesia early Saturday, killing nearly 2,000 people and injuring thousands more in the country’s worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

The magnitude 6.2 quake struck near the ancient city of Yogyakarta 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta, around dawn as many people slept, causing death and damage in several nearby towns.

TV footage showed damaged hotels and government buildings, and several collapsed buildings. Roads and bridges were destroyed, hindering efforts to get the wounded to hospitals. Some phone lines also were cut.

“It felt really powerful, and the whole building shook,” said Narman, a receptionist at a hotel in Yogyakarta. “Everyone ran from their rooms.”

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