Four dead after strong quake rocks eastern Indonesia
Ambon City: Four people have died after a strong earthquake struck Indonesia's remote Maluku islands Thursday, destroying homes and triggering landslides that buried at least one of the victims.
Terrified residents ran into the streets as buildings fell in around them after the 6.5-magnitude quake hit at around 8:45 local time (0045 GMT).
Two people were killed by falling debris, another died after being buried in a landslide while a woman was killed after falling off her motorbike while fleeing to higher ground, according to Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency and the local search and rescue office.
People in Ambon, a city of about 400,000 people, were seen helping injured residents in blood-stained clothes, while images showed wrecked homes with collapsed walls and rubble strewn on the ground.
Some patients fled a local hospital as the quake hit, prompting officials to set up makeshift shelters outside the building, an official said.
"The impact was felt across Ambon city and surrounding areas," said Rahmat Triyono, head of the earthquake and tsunami division at Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
"Many people were woken up by the shaking...it felt like a truck was passing by." The US Geological Survey said the quake struck about 37 kilometres (23 miles) northeast of Ambon in Maluku province at a depth of 29 kilometres. The area was hit by at least two dozen aftershocks including one that measured 5.6 magnitude, Triyono said.
An AFP reporter in Ambon described scenes of panic as people fled their houses when the quake struck. Architect Suryanto Soekarno said a construction site where he and his employees were working was rocked by the tremor. "It was a really hard shock," he told AFP.
"Filing cabinets fell over and my employees ran away to save themselves. Some were injured but thank God only with minor wounds."
Initial reports said the quake struck offshore, but later analysis found it hit onshore, raising the potential for damage, according to Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency.
Local BMKG head Oral Sem Wilar called for calm.
"People were panicking and started to evacuate in some places, but we are trying to tell them there's no need to panic because there's no tsunami threat," he told AFP.
The Southeast Asian archipelago is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth. It experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.
In August, five people died and several were injured after a powerful undersea earthquake rocked Indonesia's heavily populated Java island. Last year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
The force of the impact saw entire neighbourhoods levelled by liquefaction -- a process where the ground starts behaving like a liquid and swallows up the earth like quicksand.
Nearly 60,000 people are still living in makeshift accommodation nearly a year after the double disaster, the Red Cross said this week.
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Narcotic substances worth Rs 11.50 cr seized, two people arrested
Bengaluru (PTI): Two alleged interstate drug peddlers, including a woman, have been arrested with narcotic substances worth Rs 11.50 crore, police said on Tuesday.
The arrests were made recently following a raid conducted by the Narcotics Control Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bagalur police station limits, they said.
Police said 8,335 LSD strips, five kg of Hydro Ganja, 534 grams of Charas, two mobile phones and a two-wheeler were seized from their possession.
"Based on a tip-off, two interstate drug peddlers, including a woman, were apprehended. Both had been residing in Bengaluru for the past year and were involved in an organised illegal drug distribution network. They were receiving narcotic substances from a Kerala-based individual residing in Thailand and distributing them to customers as per his instructions, thereby earning illegal profits," a senior police officer said.
Addressing a press conference here, Seemant Kumar Singh said this was the first time such a huge quantity of LSD had been recovered in Bengaluru.
“We are trying to find out from where it has been sourced and where it was meant to be supplied. We have some specific inputs about the intended targets. However, without concrete evidence, we cannot conclude. We are working to establish how such a huge quantity was procured and for whom it was meant,” he said.
Singh added that further investigation is underway to trace the supply chain and identify those involved in the distribution network.
A case has been registered against them under the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) at Bagalur Police Station, and further investigation is in progress, police said.
In another operation, 1.5 kg Hydro Ganja was seized by the officials at K G Nagar police station here, police said.
The contraband had been smuggled via international parcel services and cleverly concealed inside chocolate and biscuit boxes to avoid suspicion, and the estimated value is Rs 1.5 crore, the officer said.
A case has been registered, and efforts are ongoing to trace the accused, police said.
An interstate accused was arrested in the Whitefield police station limits, for selling narcotic drugs on March 1, they said.
Police said 27.239 kg Ganja, 3.200 kg Hashish Oil, along with the two-wheeler used in the crime, with a total worth of Rs 55 lakh was seized from him, they added.
In a separate operation, two foreign women who were overstaying their visas were apprehended within the limits of Mico Layout Police Station, officials said.
They have been handed over to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and subsequently sent to the Foreigners Detention Centre as per legal procedures, they added.
