Dozens of people missing after Indonesian earthquake
07 December 2016 - 09:35
byAgency Staff
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
People stand next to the rubble of collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Pidie Jaya, Aceh, Indonesia, in this still frame taken from video December 7, 2016. Picture: METRO TV VIA REUTERS
Jakarta — At least 52 people were killed and dozens were missing after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the northern Indonesian province of Aceh on Wednesday, officials said, collapsing buildings and sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets.
The number of casualties was expected to rise and more than 70 people had been seriously injured, said the national disaster management agency’s spokesman, Sutopo Nugroho.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck just after 10pm GMT on Tuesday at a depth of 17km on Aceh’s northeastern coast.
No tsunami warning was issued.
Indonesian search and rescue teams used earth movers to clear rubble and reach what authorities believed were dozens of victims trapped underneath.
UPDATE: A magnitude 6.5 quake HAS killed over 93 people after it hit northern Indonesia's Aceh province on Wednesday. Subscribe to TimesLIVE here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TimesLive
Khairul Nova, an official at the Aceh search and rescue agency, said: "Dozens are missing but we don’t have accurate data on the total yet."
Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, bore the brunt of a massive 9.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami centred on its western coast near the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, on December 26 2004.
The entire region suffered massive destruction but Indonesia was the hardest hit, with more than 120,000 people killed in Aceh alone.
Wednesday’s quake hit the east coast of the province, about 170km from Banda Aceh.
Images on television and social media showed victims being rushed to hospital, flattened buildings and fallen electricity poles, and people gathering outside at street corners.
"The earthquake was felt strongly and many people panicked and rushed outdoors as houses collapsed," Nugroho said.
Heavy machinery was being used in the search for victims, said Risky Hidayat, another search and rescue official in Aceh.
A volunteer for the Indonesian Red Crescent in Pidie Jaya regency in Aceh described scenes of heavy damage and said many people had been injured.
"There isn’t enough medical staff around," the Red Crescent’s Muklis, who like many Indonesians uses one name, told TVOne.
At least five aftershocks were felt in the hours after the initial quake, the disaster management agency said.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Dozens of people missing after Indonesian earthquake
Jakarta — At least 52 people were killed and dozens were missing after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the northern Indonesian province of Aceh on Wednesday, officials said, collapsing buildings and sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets.
The number of casualties was expected to rise and more than 70 people had been seriously injured, said the national disaster management agency’s spokesman, Sutopo Nugroho.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck just after 10pm GMT on Tuesday at a depth of 17km on Aceh’s northeastern coast.
No tsunami warning was issued.
Indonesian search and rescue teams used earth movers to clear rubble and reach what authorities believed were dozens of victims trapped underneath.
UPDATE: A magnitude 6.5 quake HAS killed over 93 people after it hit northern Indonesia's Aceh province on Wednesday. Subscribe to TimesLIVE here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TimesLive
Khairul Nova, an official at the Aceh search and rescue agency, said: "Dozens are missing but we don’t have accurate data on the total yet."
Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, bore the brunt of a massive 9.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami centred on its western coast near the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, on December 26 2004.
The entire region suffered massive destruction but Indonesia was the hardest hit, with more than 120,000 people killed in Aceh alone.
Wednesday’s quake hit the east coast of the province, about 170km from Banda Aceh.
Images on television and social media showed victims being rushed to hospital, flattened buildings and fallen electricity poles, and people gathering outside at street corners.
"The earthquake was felt strongly and many people panicked and rushed outdoors as houses collapsed," Nugroho said.
Heavy machinery was being used in the search for victims, said Risky Hidayat, another search and rescue official in Aceh.
A volunteer for the Indonesian Red Crescent in Pidie Jaya regency in Aceh described scenes of heavy damage and said many people had been injured.
"There isn’t enough medical staff around," the Red Crescent’s Muklis, who like many Indonesians uses one name, told TVOne.
At least five aftershocks were felt in the hours after the initial quake, the disaster management agency said.
Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Asian airlines may have to reduce luxuries to survive rising fuel cost
Thousands flee as earthquake hits Fukushima region
How Japan put the bitter lessons of the 2011 quake to good use
Brace for more quakes, seismologists warn New Zealand
Evacuations begin from quake-hit New Zealand town
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.