A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit the Indonesian province of Aceh on Dec. 7 has killed nearly 100 people.
The disaster struck at around 5 a.m. Many of the at least 97 dead were killed in their sleep, crushed by falling rubble. At least five aftershocks came following the primary quake.
Rescue teams searched for survivors trapped under the ruins, clearing rubble with the help of excavation equipment. A statement by the authorities reports at least 70 serious injuries.
The earthquake’s epicenter was in the sea, about 100 miles off the coast of Sumatra Island.
“We estimate the number of casualties will continue to rise as some of the residents are still likely under the rubble of the buildings. The search and rescue operation is still underway,” a spokesman for Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency told reporters.
Aceh lies at the northern tip of Sumatra. In 2004 it was ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia.
(NTD Television)
