At least 20 people were killed as a result of a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Saturday morning off the coast of Flores Island in eastern Indonesia, a relief official told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
اضافة اعلان
Fathur Rahman, an official with search and rescue operations in the city of Maumere, said: "According to the information we received, 20 people were killed and 6 injured, while two others remain under the rubble."
Rescue teams had previously reported at least one fatality in an earlier toll.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) placed the epicenter of the early morning quake off the northern coast of Flores Island, approximately 68 kilometers northwest of Ende Regency, at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometers.
The main earthquake was followed by two aftershocks in the same region, measuring 5.6 and 5.9 in magnitude.
Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning following the quake; however, the warning was lifted shortly thereafter.
Indonesia and neighboring countries frequently experience earthquakes due to their location along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a seismically active belt extending from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin.
