Quake rocks Indonesia’s Aceh province; at least 25 dead

Additional medical personal have been sent to the region after the local Pidie Jaya hospital was damaged in the quake, which struck just as many residents were preparing for early morning prayers.

Local authorities said that there may be more people trapped under dozens of collapsed buildings.

Indonesia’s meteorological agency said there was no risk of a tsunami.

The death toll from a powerful natural disaster that struck western Indonesia Wednesday has almost doubled to 97, the military said, as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of scores of shattered buildings.

Kompas.com reported that several buildings, including the dome of the Dayah Mudi Mesra Samalanga Mosque, a coffee shop in a gasoline station and a building of STAI Al-Aziziah Islamic University, collapsed during the quake, which had its center at a depth of 10 kilometers. A hospital and school were also badly damaged. Meanwhile, the National Search and Rescue Agency could only confirm 34 deaths at 3 p.m. local time.

President Joko Widodo said he had instructed his chief of staff to visit the disaster area.

Mr Abbas said there is an urgent need for excavation equipment to move heavy debris and emergency supplies.

He said most took shelter because they feared aftershocks could knock down their houses that were partially damaged.

Maj. Gen. Tatang Sulaiman, chief of the army in Aceh province, said at least 97 died while four people were pulled from the rubble alive.

The natural disaster, which shook Sumatra’s northernmost province, Aceh, had a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, according to the United States Geological Survey.

A woman grieves for her relative, who is among those killed.

“A joint rescue team is still continuing to search for the victims”.

“Many people panicked and rushed outdoors as houses collapsed”, he said.

Nugroho said Aceh’s Pidie Jaya regency, with a population of about 140,000, was worst hit. He said five of the quake victims died at the hospital.

Hospital workers carry a woman injured in an quake at a hospital after Indonesia natural disaster.

Television showed footage of flattened mosques, fallen electricity poles and crushed cars.

Rescuers search through the wreckage of a building in Pidie.

The Southeast Asian country of Indonesia was struck by a massive quake early Wednesday morning, resulting in the confirmed deaths of dozens – and possibly more.

The 5.8 magnitude quake hit late Tuesday afternoon and was felt widely in the twin-island republic off the coast of Venezuela.

Large earthquakes are relatively common in Indonesia, which sits on the infamous Ring of Fire, a set of fault lines that circle the Pacific Basin.