Official death toll in Sumatra quake 64, with 465 injured

Asian Economic News, June 12, 2000

JAKARTA, June 6 Kyodo

The official death toll in the earthquake that hit Indonesia's Bengkulu Province late Sunday rose to 64 Tuesday, with more than 465 people injured, 265 of them seriously, a provincial government official in Jakarta said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta television station RCTI reported that at least 66 died in the quake, with 265 seriously injured and about 260 slightly injured.

In an interview, Basir, the provincial official, said 90% of the provincial capital, Bengkulu, was damaged and Enggano Island, off Sumatra Island, was also damaged and remains isolated, with communication lines cut.

"We still don't know the conditions on Enggano," Basir said. Bengkulu is about 600 kilometers northwest of Jakarta.

Basir said the navy has dispatched a ship to deliver relief supplies to Enggano, an island with a population of about 1,800.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency put the quake's magnitude at 7.3.

On May 4, a 6.5 magnitude quake struck the Banggai Islands in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi Province, leaving about 40 people dead.