A strong 7.5-magnitude quake rocked IndonesiaÂ’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. IndonesiaÂ’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 the west coast of Sumatra.
Aftershocks measuring 5.5 and 5.3 hit shortly afterwards, it said. “Three are dead, 25 seriously injured, many buildings damaged” on Simeulue, health ministry official Rustam Pakaya said in a text message.
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