Powerful earthquake shakes Indonesia's Sumatra, kills 1
Jakarta (AP): A strong and shallow earthquake shook Indonesia's Sumatra island on Saturday, killing a resident, injuring 11 and damaging more than a a dozen houses and buildings, police said.
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck about 40 km (24.8 miles) northeast of Sibolga, a coastal city in North Sumatra province, according to the US Geological Survey. It was 13 km (8 miles) deep.
The pre-dawn earthquake was followed by two 5.0 magnitude aftershocks.
A 62-year-old man died of a heart attack while fleeing to safety in Tarutung village, which is closest to the epicentre, said local police chief Johanson Sianturi. Eleven people have been injured and at least 15 houses and buildings damaged in the village, he said.
Authorities were still investigating the full extent of the damage.
A footage released by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency showed several residents evacuating an injured person by a van to a hospital while panicked voices cried for help. The agency also showed several people receiving treatment and walls cracked by the earthquake.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 270 million people, is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In February, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra province. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.
A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed nearly 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.
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Malegaon blast: Pragya Thakur faces new warrant after skipping court date again
Mumbai (PTI): A special court here on Wednesday issued a fresh bailable warrant against former BJP MP Pragya Thakur, a prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, as she failed to appear before it citing health issues.
This was the second warrant issued this month against Thakur by the special court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases.
On November 5, the court had issued a warrant against her for failing to attend the proceedings, and directed her to appear on November 13.
On Wednesday, Thakur's lawyer J P Mishra told the court that she could not appear as she was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bhopal.
He also submitted related medical records.
The judge then issued a fresh bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 and directed her to remain present in the court on December 2.
The trial is at the fag end, and the court has repeatedly asked all the accused to remain present for daily hearings.
Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008.
Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others are on trial in the case for their alleged involvement in the blast conspiracy.
