Quake Kills Nine People In Central Aceh

Reporting by Azhari



Banda Aceh, Aceh, July 3 (Antara) - Nine people were found dead in Aceh provincial district of Aceh Tengah (Central Aceh) after 6.2 magnitude quake hit the area on Tuesday afternoon (July 2), a district official said.

The quake also caused power blackout following the major quake, Head of Sub District Ketol, M. Saleh, said on Tuesday night.

"Aftershocks also caused people in panic," he said, adding that a two-floor elementary school building was also fully destroyed by the quake.

The powerful quake left heavy damages in Kampung Bah, Belang Mancung, Simpang Rajawali, Ponok Balik, and Jalok.

Eight of the nine victims were found dead under the building rubles in Ponok Balik, Ketol, Central Aceh.

"The evacuation was hampered by power outage after the aftershohcks," he said.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel led by Chief of district military command 0106/Central Aceh Commander (Inf) Lalu Habib still help evacuating the wounded from the rubles.

Meanwhile, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said five people were found dead in Bener Meriah District, and 70 others wounded.

The strong earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted Aceh province on Tuesday at 02.37 p.m Western Indonesia Time.

The quake did not have the potential to cause a tsunami, according to Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) office in Banda Aceh.

The epicenter of the quake was located at 4.70 degrees northern latitude and 96.61 degrees eastern longitude or 35 kilometers southwest of Bener Meriah District at a depth of 10 kilometers.(B003)