Lombok earthquake latest: Tourists flee Indonesian island after powerful magnitude-7 quake kills at least 98

Disaster agency warns death toll likely to rise as authorities struggle to reach areas where thousands of buildings collapsed

At least 98 people have been killed after a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Lombok, prompting tourists to flee.

It was the second deadly quake to hit the island in a week after 16 were killed and hundreds of houses damaged on 29 July.

A spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency told a news conference the damage was “massive” in the north of Lombok, and the agency said the death toll was expected to rise.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the dead included no foreigners and there were 236 people injured, with thousands of homes and buildings damaged and 20,000 people in temporary shelters.

Some areas are still to be reached, with rescuers hampered by collapsed bridges, electricity blackouts and damaged roads strewn with debris.

The quake, measured at a magnitude 7 by Indonesian authorities and a still powerful 6.9 by the US Geological Survey, struck early on Sunday evening at a depth of 10.5km (6 miles) in the northern part of Lombok.

Soldiers and other rescuers carried injured people on stretchers and carpets to evacuation centres. Many victims were treated outdoors because hospitals were damaged.

“People panicked and scattered on the streets, and buildings and houses that had been damaged by the previous earthquake had become more damaged and collapsed,” Mr Sutopo said.

The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics said more than 120 aftershocks were recorded after the tremor.

The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning, and frightened people poured out of their homes to move to higher ground, particularly in north Lombok and Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province, but the warning was lifted on Sunday after only small waves were recorded.

Mr Sutopo said there were no fatalities among the local and foreign tourists, and a joint search and rescue team had deployed three ships to rescue people.

A tourist stands near damaged buildings as he tries to flag down a car after the earthquake (Antara Foto/Ahmad Subaidi/ via Reuters) (Antara Foto/Ahmad Subaidi/ via REUTERS)

Australia’s home affairs minister tweeted to say he and his delegation were safely rescued in darkness from a Lombok hotel where they had been staying during a regional security conference.

Peter Dutton told Fairfax Media he was on the hotel’s 12th floor when the quake struck. He said the earthquake “was powerful enough to put us on the floor” and cut power.

Singapore’s law and home affairs minister, K Shanmugam, who was on the 10th floor of a hotel in Mataram when the quake struck, said his room shook violently and walls cracked.

“It was quite impossible to stand up. Heard screams. Came out, and made my way down a staircase, while building was still shaking. Power went out for a while. Lots of cracks, fallen doors,” he wrote on Facebook.

Silverius Tasman, from Yayasan Sayangi Tunas Cilik, a partner of Save the Children in Indonesia, said: “There were a significant number of aftershocks throughout the night so our staff on the ground are scared and traumatised – not to mention the children living on the island who have now experienced their second earthquake in a week.

“Despite the tsunami threat being removed, people are still confused and fleeing in fear. Across Lombok there is no power, which is making communications challenging.”

He added: ”It’s quite clear the death toll will increase in the coming days as authorities continue to conduct search and rescue operations.

“During all emergencies, children are the most vulnerable and we hold concerns for their safety, security and overall wellbeing. Their particular needs must be taken into account, as agencies and the government respond in the aftermath of this disaster.

“We have launched a response and are sending supplies. We will continue to help children in the immediate vicinity to make sure they are safe and protected during this difficult time.”

Chrissy Teigen, who was in Bali with her husband, John Legend, and their two children, live tweeted the shaking.

“Bali. Trembling. So long,” the model tweeted to her 10.6 million followers.

British tourists were caught up in the chaos on Lombok and the nearby Gili islands after the earthquake on Sunday.

A subsequent tsunami warning sparked panic, and tourists flocked to the beaches in a desperate bid to be rescued. Young families and couples on their honeymoon were among those stuck on the islands.

Helen Brady, 29, a writer from Manchester, said she and her boyfriend had narrowly escaped death after the earthquake began on the tiny island of Gili Trawangan.

She said: “All the lights went out and most buildings [were] demolished.

“If we’d have been one minute slower we’d have been dead, or at the very least severely injured.”

Many were forced to flee to higher ground amid fears the earthquake would be followed by a tsunami.

James Kelsall, a 28-year-old from Woodford Green in London, had been visiting Gili Trawangan with his partner, Helen.

He said: “There were lots of injuries and pain on the island from buildings that had collapsed onto people.

“All the locals were frantically running and screaming, putting on life jackets.

“We followed them up to higher ground, which was a steep, uneven climb to the top of a hill in darkness.”

He added: “It was literally the most terrifying thing I have experienced, and the uncertainty of the tsunami; I had pictures of Thailand in my head from when it happened there.”

Ash Flay, whose sister Katy was stuck on Gili Trawangan with her partner, Stef, said the rescue effort had been a “disgrace”, and authorities were demanding money from tourists.

He said: “I received a phone call from Katy whilst the earthquake was happening, she was distressed – crying and screaming.

“All I could hear was crashes, she then called again and said a tsunami warning is out, and she’s climbed a tree, doesn’t know what’s happening and then she was uncontactable for two hours.

“Katy climbed up one of the trees and then somebody kicked her out of it, so she had to climb another one, and injured her foot when she was running to high ground during the tsunami warning.

“It was the worst two hours of my life.”

In a message to her brother, Ms Flay, from Leeds, said: “Boats [are] leaving half empty as you need a ticket... no boats for everyone just selected people.

“People are punching and hitting each other.”

Others stuck on the island included a family of four from Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.

The group included two children, aged five and seven, according to a relative, who asked to keep their identities anonymous.

“The kids are quite traumatised, I’ve spoken to my daughter and she’s clearly very frightened and very scared – frankly they just want to come home,” he said.

The Foreign Office advised tourists to “monitor local media, exercise caution and follow the advice of local authorities”.

Like Bali, Lombok is known for its pristine beaches and mountains, with hotels and other buildings not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.

Indonesia sits on the geographically active Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines regularly hit by earthquakes.

In December 2004, a massive 9.1 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Additional reporting by agencies