Death toll rises in Indonesian earthquake

By Mahmut Atanur

JAKARTA (AA) - The death toll from last week’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia’s Maluku province has risen, local authorities said Thursday.

According to the Tempo newspaper, the head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency of Maluku, Farida Salampessy, said the number of those killed in the earthquake-stricken areas has increased from 30 to 36.

Salampessy said 11 people were killed in Ambon, 15 in Central Maluku and 10 in Seram.

Agency officials said more than 6,000 structures had suffered damage and the provision of shelter and food aid to disaster victims is continuing in the region.

Due to the earthquake, a state of emergency was declared in the region until Oct. 9.

The tremor struck off Ambon, the capital city of Maluku province, on Thursday at 6.48 a.m. (1148GMT Wednesday).

It was centered 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Maluku and 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the earth’s surface, said the country’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

An aftershock occurred at 7.39 a.m. (1239GMT) with a magnitude of 5.6.

A total of 156 people were injured, said Agus Wibowo, acting head of the Data and Information Center and Public Relations at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).