Indonesia earthquake: Girl, 7, found dead after day-long rescue effort

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A seven-year-old Indonesian girl who was the focus of a day-long rescue attempt has been found dead, rescuers said on Friday.

After an earthquake in Indonesia's West Java killed 272 people, Ashika Nur Fauziah, better known as Cika, was discovered under rubble in the worst-hit neighborhood of Cianjur town, the epicenter of the quake that triggered landslides, destroyed roofs, walls, and buried bodies under mounds of earth on Monday.

"The body was immediately handed over to the family. The family accepted and she was then buried," 28-year-old rescuer Jeksen Kolibu said as quoted by AFP.

Dozens of rescuers spent much of Thursday clearing rubble with digging equipment, hammers, and their bare hands in the delicate task, which was delayed overnight until Friday morning.

Cika was found under three layers of concrete, said Kolibu.

The search had focused on her grandmother's house, which was across the street from the family home, and where her mother believed she had been playing when the earthquake happened.

The spectacular rescue of a six-year-old kid, Azka, on Wednesday evening, which was characterized as a "miracle" after he survived more than two days in the wreckage without food or drink, had increased hopes of a fortunate outcome.

Authorities reported 39 people were still missing before Cika was recovered, as the rescue effort was hampered by pounding rain and possibly lethal aftershocks.