6 Killed When Large Quake Jolts Indonesia Island
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A strong earthquake shook a remote island in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, killing at least six people, injuring at least 30 and causing terrified residents to flee their homes for the safety of a soccer field.
Dozens of houses on Mangole island were badly damaged when the quake struck at 10:11 p.m., police said. The island is about 1,180 miles east of Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta.
The death toll could rise significantly because hundreds of people were working at a timber factory when the quake struck, local officials said. A woman who lived nearby told them the factory was destroyed.
The U.S. Geological Survey in Washington said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 and was centered at or close to a nearby island. Indonesia’s Meteorological and Geophysics Agency said today that the quake had a magnitude of 6.5.
Japan issued a tsunami alert along its Pacific coast but rescinded it about two hours later.
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