3 quakes strike Indonesia, 4 deaths reported

JAKARTA, Dec 18: Three moderate earthquakes struck Indonesia's Sumatra island today, an official from the country's meteorological agency said, with a witness reporting that four people were killed in one area.

The first earthquake struck at 4:10 a.m. (0240 hes IST) with a magnitude of 5.8. Its epicentre was 128 km under the sea southwest of the city of Banda Aceh, an official from Indonesia's meteorology and geophysical agency said.

The second quake, which had a magnitude of 5.7, came about 30 minutes later on land at depth of 53 km in an area northwest of the city of Padang in Sumatra, the official said.

A third quake, of 5.5 magnitude, hit at 8:24 a.m. in North Sumatra, the official said.

The official said there were no reports of damage or casualties, but one witness telephoned El Shinta radio to say that four had been killed in the town of Muarasipongi in west Sumatra.

Earthquakes are frequent in Indonesia, which straddles a seismically active part of the so-called ''Ring of Fire'' in the Pacific.

REUTERS