Series of earthquakes strike Indonesia, two dead

One quake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck 50 kilometres north-west of the Raba district town on Sumbawa island in West Nusa Tenggara at 12:02 am (1602 GMT Sunday), Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) reported. It occurred at about 50 kilometres beneath the seabed.

 A 6.8-magnitude aftershock took place about two hours later, adding to the damage of homes and buildings as well panicking residents who had fled their homes after the initial quake, officials and residents said.

 According to reports from the scene two people were killed and 45 others were injured, said Rustam Pakaya, chief of the Health Ministry's Crisis Centre.

 He said one of the deaths was a 5-year-old boy, while scores of homes and buildings were badly damaged by the quakes, the latest in series of shocks to strike in Indonesia in recent days.

 Suriyani, an official at the general hospital in Dompu district on Sumbawa, said that the hospital was treating around 20 injured people, adding that most of them had been wounded from collapsing walls.

 An official at BMG in Jakarta said a tsunami warning was issued but lifted later after no tidal waves took place.

 The quakes were also felt on the nearby islands of Lombok and Bali.

 Another 6.0-magnitude quake hit off the western coast of West Sumatra early Monday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage.

 The Indonesian archipelago sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire," where continental plates meet and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

 Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which left more than 170,000 people dead or missing in Aceh province alone.//dpa