Indonesian earthquake claims 13

JAKARTA – A disaster management official says 13 people have been killed and thousands trapped under flattened buildings in a powerful earthquake in western Indonesia.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the Health Ministry’s crisis centre, said a field hospital was being prepared to assist the injured and medical teams were on the way from neighbouring provinces.A 7.6-magnitude quake hit just off the coast of the town of Padang, Western Sumatra province yesterday. Officials said the quake triggered a landslide that cut off land transport to the area closest to the epicenter. Power and telecommunications were also cut.The quake was along the same fault line that spawned the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.Indonesian television reported that hundreds of buildings had collapsed and many people were feared trapped under the rubble. Footage from Padang showed flattened buildings, with at least one person trapped underneath, a foot sticking out from beneath the debris.Padang, a sprawling low-lying city of around 900 000, was badly hit by an 8.4 magnitude quake in September 2007, when dozens of people died and several large buildings collapsed. – Nampa-AP