At least 91 killed after M7.0 quake jolts Indonesia's Lombok

At least 91 people were killed, and over two hundred others injured after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the northern coast of Indonesia's Lombok island on Sunday, Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported on Monday, adding that the death toll could rise further.

Indonesian rescuers search for victims under the ruin of a collapsed house after an earthquake struck in North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, 06 August 2018. According to media reports, a 7.0 magnitude quake hit Indonesia's island of Lombok on 05 August, killing at least 91 people. [Photo; IC]

The national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said some of the worst affected areas in the north of the island have not been reached by rescuers yet, and there is "massive" damage in north Lombok from the earthquake. 

Nugroho told a news conference that the rescue efforts are still ongoing and there were no foreigners among the victims so far.

The tremor occurred at 18:46 p.m. local time (1146 GMT) at a depth of 10.5 km, just a week after a quake killed at least 17 people on the holiday island.

The neighboring island of Bali, one of Southeast Asia's leading tourist destinations, also felt the tremor. People could be heard screaming as locals and tourists ran onto the road.

Thousands of buildings were damaged, electricity was knocked out in several parts of the city, and patients were evacuated from the main hospital, said witnesses and officials.

Nugroho said an initial tsunami warning which was later canceled had sparked terror as residents scrambled to reach safer ground.

"People were panicking ... especially because of the early tsunami warning," he said.

According to the consulate general of China in Denpasar, there are still about 200 Chinese tourists in Lombok as of Monday morning, and the consulate has got in touch with 37 of them, including eight from Hong Kong. They are all in good conditions.

The consulate is communicating with local authorities, rushing them to accelerate the rescue work, and ensure the safety of all Chinese citizens.

The consulate also said that all of the Chinese tourists are estimated to be evacuated soon. 

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes as it lies on vulnerable quake-affected areas called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."