Telangana News

As per the official reports, at least 18 people died and dozens were feared trapped in rubble after a strong earthquake struck off Aceh province on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the early hours of today.

“18 have died so far, based on data from the hospital. Some of the fatalities are children, the hospital here couldn’t take the patients, so we sent some to the neighboring district”, said Mulyadi, deputy district chief of Pidie Jaya, the region hit hardest by the quake.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the shallow 6.5-magnitude quake hit just north of the small town of Reuleuet at 5.03am local time. There was no tsunami alert.

“Several shops, houses and homes have caved in Pidie Jaya district and the owners are still trapped there. We are now deploying heavy machines to help out and hopefully we can save the ones who are trapped,” Achmad, chief of the local disaster management office, said.