Earthquake in Indonesia kills 14
Lombok – A powerful earthquake which struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok yesterday killed at least 14 people, injured scores and damaged thousands of homes, officials said.
Five children were among those killed by the shallow 6.4-magnitude early-morning quake, which sent people running outside in panic and triggered landslides on popular mountain hiking routes. Scores of aftershocks sparked fear among survivors. More than 120 were recorded, the biggest with a magnitude of 5.7, Indonesia’s meteorology agency said.
Local officials have declared a three-day state of emergency. President Joko Widodo is due to visit the island this morning.
“Based on reports, 14 people died, 162 were injured and thousands of homes were damaged,” Indonesian disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said, adding that five of the dead were children.
One Malaysian was killed and six injured, the Malaysian foreign ministry said. “All of them were at the foot of Mount Rinjani when the incident happened,” it said, referencing the spectacular volcano that dominates the island. The 30-year-old victim was inside a restroom when the building collapsed and crushed her, the New Straits Times quoted another Malaysian climber, Khairul Azim, as saying.
The epicentre of the earthquake struck 50km northeast of Lombok’s main city, Mataram, the US Geological Survey said. –