BIREUEN, Indonesia (AP) – A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people and causing dozens of buildings to collapse.
A frantic rescue effort involving dozens of villagers, soldiers and police was underway in Meureudu, a severely affected town in Pidie Jaya district. Three excavators were trying to remove debris from shop houses where three people were believed buried, said Suyatno, who heads Aceh’s search and rescue agency.
District chief Aiyub Abbas said hundreds of people in the district have been injured and more than 40 buildings including mosques, stores and homes were flattened. The district is located 18 kilometers (11 miles) southwest of the epicenter.
Abbas said 25 people have been killed in that district alone. A local health office said eight were young children.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the shallow 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck at 5:03 a.m. (2203 GMT Tuesday) was centered about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Reuleut, a town in northern Aceh, at a depth of 17 kilometers (11 miles). There was no risk of a tsunami.