Indonesia earthquake death toll increases to 22

Banda Aceh (Indonesia), July 3: The death toll of the earthquake that struck Indonesian province of Aceh on Tuesday has climbed to 22 and more than 200 people are injured, official sources said.

The earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale has struck Tuesday afternoon at a depth of just 10 kilometers and was centered on the far western tip of Sumatra island in Aceh province.

The quake also triggered landslides and caused hundreds of people to be evacuated to 10 temporary shelters in Bener Meriah district, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Rescuers and other assistance teams have arrived in Bener Meriah, while the air force have dispatched a helicopter and a CN-235 aircraft to the region, Nugroho said.

The quake also caused concern among officials attending a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Medan, the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province and they were escorted by the security officials to the safer place.

OneIndia News

(with PTI inputs)