6.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Indonesia: at least 14 dead and more than 160 wounded

JAKARTA.- This morning, when the majority of the inhabitants of the
Lombok Island, a popular tourist destination next to


Bali
in


Indonesia
they slept in their homes,
An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck the region and left at least 14 dead and more than 160 wounded, according to preliminary estimates after the incident.

country, subject to
The earthquakes by its location in the so-called "belt of fire", an area of ​​volcanoes and geological faults in the Pacific Basin, recorded the tremor at a depth of 7 kilometers. The movement damaged more than 1,000 homes. In addition, at least 162 people were injured, including 67 hospitalized with serious injuries.

The East Lombok district was most affected with 10 deaths, including a Malaysian citizen, said the agency spokesman before the Indonesian disasters, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. The number of victims could increase as data from other parts of the island are still collected, he added.

"The number of casualties could increase because it is still ongoing damage badessment, "warned the spokesman, who also pointed out that there were dozens of homes and other buildings affected. "Our main goal now is to help the victims and save lives." The earthquake caused power outages in several districts of eastern and northern Lombok and caused a large landslide on Mount Rinjani. Rescuers evacuated more than 800 tourists from the mountain.

Images on television showed that residents were always outside their homes for fear of aftershocks, while the wounded were treated on mattresses from where they came.

"Residents refused to enter their homes because they still felt the long aftershocks", declared a manager. The Indonesian meteorological and geophysical agency has recorded more than 130 aftershocks

The Indonesian archipelago, consisting of 17,000 islands and islets, has recorded many earthquakes, mostly harmless, but the region carefully monitors all seismic activity. In 2004, a tsunami caused by a magnitude 9.3 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra caused 220,000 deaths in several countries of the Indian Ocean. 168,000 died in Indonesia

AP, DPA and AFP Agencies