Three dead, 25 hurt in Indonesia quake

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP) — A strong 7.5-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia's Aceh province Wednesday, killing three people, seriously injuring 25 others and briefly sparking a tsunami alert, officials said.

The US Geological Survey said the undersea quake struck at 3:08 pm (0808 GMT) some 312 kilometres (194 miles) west-southwest of the North Sumatra capital Medan, at a depth of 34 kilometres.

The quake rocked the region worst hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, when 168,000 people were killed in Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island.

Indonesia's meteorological agency put the initial magnitude at 6.6 but later upgraded it to 7.3. It said the quake struck 42 kilometres northwest of Sinabang, the main town on Simeulue island, off...