New quake hits stricken Sumatra


An earthquake with a magnitude of 7 has hit Sumatra, a day after another powerful quake devastated much of the Indonesian island.

Officials now say at least 200 bodies have been found from the earlier 7.6 magnitude quake, which triggered landslides and cut power lines.

Hundreds of buildings, including hospitals, collapsed in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province.

Rescue workers said the number of dead is expected to rise.

Thousands of people are thought to be buried under rubble.

Earlier Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for Indonesia's National Disaster Agency, said some 100 to 200 people had died in Padang and more than 500 houses and buildings had collapsed.

"Many people are staying outdoors and some people are staying in public facilities," he told Reuters.

Mr Kardono told the AFP news agency about 150 military personnel, as well as police and Health Ministry workers, were in the affected area, but they urgently needed heavy machinery to lift the rubble.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's disaster centre in Jakarta, said there were "thousands of people trapped in the rubble of buildings".

He said a city hospital was among the ruined buildings.

The quake brought down telephone lines, severely affecting communications with the affected area and making it difficult to assess the scale of the damage. read more
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