Deaths as earthquake hits Sumatra
AJ
Tue | Mar 06, 07 | 09:59:58 AM
JAKARTA, 6 Mac - An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hit the
Indonesia island of Sumatra.
A spokesman for the Indonesian president's office says that as many as 70
people have been killed by the quake and its aftershocks hit on Tuesday morning.
Hundreds of buildings were flattened and the communication lines cut off.
"So far 70 people were reported dead in various places and scores injured,"
Sudi Silalahi told reporters.
The tremors could be felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore, 430km from
the epicentre where several buildings were evacuated.
An exact death toll and information on the damage was delayed by the fact the
quake hit various regions simultaneously and reports from each were still
coming in.
Strong aftershock
The US Geological Survey said the tremor hit on Tuesday in a mountainous area
about 50km northeast of Padang, a city on Sumatra's western coast, recording a
depth of 33km.
Hospitals were quickly overwhelmed and local officials appealed for urgent
help.
It appeared to have been followed by at least one aftershock almost as strong.
Budi Sarwono, the chief of police in Solok, one of the towns affected, had
earlier put the toll at 41 but said he expected it to increase.
Many people were trapped in collapsed buildings and there was no official
information about the situation at the quake's epicentre because phone lines
were down, Utjin Sudiana, West Sumatra's police chief, told AFP.
"The epicentre is in Batusangkar but communication is disconnected from there
so we don't know what the damage is," he added.
Help needed
"Several houses have collapsed. There are hundreds of victims," Solok mayor
Samsurahim, told ElShinta radio, adding that a school had been burnt to the
ground after the quake.
"We have asked for medical help," he said. "Our facilities here are
insufficient."
Doctors were forced to set up outdoors, running drips for the injured and
working in hastily erected tents. Local television showed staff at the main
hospital in nearby Padang scrambling in chaos to cope with the wounded.
The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental
plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. - mks.
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