At least 14 DEAD after strong magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits Lombok region of Indonesia
A STRONG magnitude 6.4 earthquake has hit the island of Lombok in Indonesia at a depth of 7km, killing at least 14 people and causing extensive damage to thousands of buildings, the country’s disaster mitigation agency has stated.
By ALICE SCARSI
Express.co.uk
Sun, Jul 29, 2018
The quake struck the northern part of the island at 6.47am local time (11.47pm BST), sending terrified villagers still asleep fleeing from their beds into open fields to avoid collapsing buildings.
The tremor’s epicentre was located 30.7 miles north-east of the city of Mataram, which has a population of 319,000.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the disaster mitigation agency’s spokesman, said: “People are gathering on the streets and empty fields to avoid collapsing buildings.
“The main focus now is evacuation and rescue. Some of the injured are still being treated at clinics.”
Mr Nugroho added that among the 14 victims, there is a 30-year old woman from Malaysia who was visiting Mount Rinjani, a popular trekking destination.
As the tremors may have triggered landslides in the area, the site has been temporarily shut down, he continued.
And the death toll could still rise, as 162 more people were left injured.
An emergency tent was set up on a street in Sembalun to treat the injured because the local hospital was damaged, and those in a critical condition were taken to other hospitals.
Lombok is also close to another popular tourist destination, Bali, with more than 361,000 British holidaymakers visiting the country in 2017.
The Rest…HERE
