Infant among 20 killed in Indonesian earthquake

People help an injured woman in Ambon. Pic/AFP

Ambon City: At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured on Thursday in a strong earthquake that rocked Indonesia's remote Maluku islands, triggering landslides that buried at least one of the victims, the disaster agency said. Terrified residents ran into streets as buildings fell around them when the 6.5-magnitude quake hit in the morning. "At least 100 people were injured and more than 2,000 evacuated," said the national disaster mitigation spokesman. Among those killed was an infant, he said.

Some patients fled a local hospital as the quake hit, prompting officials to set up makeshift shelters outside the building, an official said. "The impact was felt across Ambon city and surrounding areas," said Rahmat Triyono, head of the earthquake and tsunami division at Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency.

The area was hit by at least two dozen aftershocks including one that measured 5.6 magnitude, Triyono said.

100
No. of people injured

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