Indonesia hit by fresh quakes off island of Sumba

Two quakes struck in quick succession off the southern coast of Indonesia's Sumba Island on Tuesday morning, the United States Geological Survey said.

A shallow and moderately strong 5.9 quake struck at 2359 GMT, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) off Sumba, an island of some 750,000 people.

It was followed up some 15 minutes later by a stronger 6.0 magnitude quake in the same area at a depth of 30 kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of serious damage.

"We felt four shakes. People were panicking when the first quake happened and ran out of the hotel, about 40 of our guests," Defis Rinaldi, a worker at the Padadita Beach Hotel told AFP by telephone.

"It was only a few seconds and the geophysics agency didn't issue a warning, everything is back to normal now.

Sumba lies about 1,600 kilometres to the south of Sulawesi island which was struck by a devastating quake and tsunami on Friday, killing more than 800 people.

The tsunami smashed into the seaside city of Palu, sweeping away buildings, trees, cars and those unlucky enough to lie in its path.

But there are fears the overall toll will mount significantly once more isolated regions have been reached.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was working to reunite families who had become separated during the disaster and was providing "forensic services" to those carrying out the grim task of identifying victims.

British aid officials are being sent to help the Indonesian government co-ordinate the humanitarian response.

Rescuers hope the extent of the devastation will become clearer on Tuesday, as they push into remote areas that have been out of contact for more than three days.

Emergency teams continued the hunt for victims among the rubble of Palu, the worst affected area. 

"We suspect there are still some survivors trapped inside," the head of on rescue team, Agus Haryono, told Reuters at the collapsed seven-storey Hotel Roa Roa.

Source: The Telegraph