Indonesia earthquake: 14 dead on tourist island of Lombok
By A powerful earthquake has struck a popular tourist destination in Indonesia, killing at least 14 people.
The 6.4 magnitude quake hit the central island of Lombok just before 07:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday.
The island attracts tourists from around the world due to its beaches and hiking trails and is located about 40km (25 miles) east of Bali.
More than 160 people are injured and thousands of homes are damaged, officials say.
A Malaysian tourist who was on a hiking trip to Mount Rinjani is among those killed.
The United States Geological Survey said the epicentre of the earthquake was 50km (31 miles) north-east of the city of Mataram, in northern Lombok.
It was followed by more than 60 smaller earthquakes, with the largest recorded at a magnitude of 5.7.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the country’s disaster agency, said that most casualties occurred when victims were hit by debris and falling blocks of concrete.
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“The main focus now is evacuation and rescue. Some of the injured are still being treated at clinics,” he said.
He also posted images showing collapsed buildings and streets littered with rubble.
“The quake felt so strong… tourists were panicked and frightened and escaped from hotels,” Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, a citizen protection director at the foreign ministry, told BBC Indonesian.
BBC Marathi journalist Vinayak Gaikwad was on Gili Trawangan island, about 7km from Lombok, at the time of the earthquake.
“The tremors were strong – I noticed waves in the hotel pool,” he said. “A group of us ran out of the hotel.
“Thirty minutes later there was the first strong aftershock. The locals were worried because many of their structures are made from wood and bamboo, but the tourists were the most scared.”
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