"The death toll so far stands at 67. The number will certainly increase. I just saw another body being taken in," Rudi Supriatna Bahro told Metro TV from the West Java province's Pangandaran coast.

"The situation is almost similar to Aceh," he said, referring to the Indonesian province where 168,000 people were killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.

He said thousands of people had taken shelter in mosques and other safe places.

"Many of the injured were suffering from broken bones," he said.

Earlier Putu Suryawan of the Indonesian Red Cross disaster relief division told AFP that 70 people were missing and another 40 were injured in three West Java areas in the southern coast.

Suryawan said residents had reported about 40 more people, who were building a dam when the tsunami struck, were missing. Three Red Cross ambulances and 15 volunteers had left for the disaster zone.

The tsunami also hit the coastal parts of Central Java province and there were unconfirmed reports of at least five deaths there.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono earlier said five people had been killed and urged residents to move away from coastal areas.

"The search is ongoing for those who are still missing," he told reporters. "It is important to take care of the dead and the injured."

"We call on people to evacuate vulnerable areas. There have been at least five aftershocks," he said, adding that military and rescue teams had been sent to the area.

Witnesses said waves hit buildings and houses on the south coast following the earthquake.

"Waves suddenly came and we ran to the hills. Four people from my group are still missing," said a woman who gave her name as Teti, and who said she had been accompanying Dutch tourists when the waves hit.

"Many small hotels were destroyed," she told ElShinta radio. "Hotels on the beach front of Pangandaran ... the front parts are hit. Boats have been thrown into hotels," she said.