UpdateFrantic rescue efforts underway after Aceh quake, death toll jumps to 97
Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”
A strong undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Aceh province early on Wednesday, killing at least 54 people and sparking a frantic rescue effort in the rubble of dozens of collapsed and damaged buildings.
Major General Tatang Sulaiman, chief of the army in Aceh province, said the death toll jumped to 97 from 54 as rescuers pull more bodies from the rubble.
The national disaster mitigation agency earlier said 78 people had suffered serious injuries.
The rescue effort involving villagers, soldiers and police is concentrated on Meureudu, a severely affected town in Pidie Jaya district. Excavators were trying to remove debris from shop houses and other buildings where people were believed buried.
More than 40 buildings including several mosques were flattened in the district located 18 kilometres southwest of the epicentre, according to Aiyub Abbas, the district chief. Roads also cracked and power poles toppled over.
