More than a thousand people are believed to have died in Indonesia after a massive earthquake, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, struck off the main island of Sumatra on Monday at 4.15pm (GMT) (11.15pm local time) lasting around 3 minutes. The island of Nias, not far from the epicentre (125 miles off Sumatra mainland), was worst hit by the quake and suffered the highest number of casualties, with officials saying that around 70 per cent of buildings there had been destroyed. It was felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore and thousands fled their homes across a region still reeling from December’s disaster. Tsunami alerts were given all around the Indian Ocean, but, three hours after the quake, alerts were called off and many people began returning home. A massive rescue operation is in progress.
