Soldiers and police are leading rescue operations in Indonesia after a 6 . 1 magnitude earthquake hit Aceh province leaving 24 dead and over 200 injured .
injured
soldier police lead rescue operation indonesia 6 1 magnitude earthquake hit aceh province leave 24 dead 200 injure
Soldiers and police are leading rescue operations in Indonesia after a 6 . 1 magnitude earthquake hit Aceh province leaving 24 dead and over 200 <m> injured </m> .
http : / / www . independent . co . uk / news / world / asia / indonesia - earthquake - 24 - dead - and - over - 200 - injured - as - 61 - magnitude - quake - hits - aceh - province - 8684832 . html
Indonesia earthquake : 24 dead and over 200 injured as 6 . 1 magnitude quake hits Aceh province
WEDNESDAY 03 JULY 2013
Soldiers and police are leading rescue operations in Indonesia after a 6 . 1 magnitude earthquake hit Aceh province leaving 24 dead and over 200 <m> injured </m> .
The quake struck yesterday afternoon at a depth of just six miles and was centred on the far western tip of Sumatra island in Aceh province .
Twelve people were killed and 70 others were injured by a landslide or collapsing buildings in Bener Meriah district , said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency .
In neighbouring Central Aceh district , 10 people were killed , 140 were injured and about 1 , 500 houses and buildings were damaged , Nugroho said .
The quake also triggered landslides and caused hundreds of people to be evacuated to 10 temporary shelters .
Another two people are also reported to have been killed , although it has not been stated where .
Nugroho told Agence - France Presse : "We have recorded 24 people dead and 249 people injured" , adding that more than 300 buildings have been damaged in the quake .
Rescuers and other assistance teams have arrived in Bener Meriah , while the air force have dispatched a helicopter and a CN - 235 aircraft to the region , Nugroho said .
"We are now concentrating on searching for people who may be trapped under the rubble , " said Rusli M . Saleh , the deputy district chief of Bener Meriah .
He said at least 25 of the injured in his district were hospitalised in intensive care .
As the quake hit , villagers in the area ran out of their homes in panic and screamed for help .
"I see many houses were damaged and their roofs fell onto some people , " Bensu Elianita , a 22 - year - old resident of Bukit Sama village in Central Aceh district , said shortly after the quake hit .
"Many people were injured , but it is difficult to evacuate them due to traffic jams . "
The quake also caused concern among officials attending a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Medan , the capital of neighboring North Sumatra province .
They were escorted from the second - floor meeting room by security officers .
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire , an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean .
In 2004 , a magnitude - 9 . 1 earthquake off Aceh triggered a tsunami that killed 230 , 000 people in 14 countries .