82 victims feared dead as earthquake rocks Indonesia’s Lombok island again

Indonesia’s popular tourist island of Lombok has been hit again by another magnitude-6.9 earthquake which struck 3km from Loloan about 31km underground.

The earthquake which struck moments after authorities briefly issued a tsunami warning, which was later cancelled, has claimed the lives of no less than 82 victims.

According to Muhammad Rum, the head of the local disaster agency, most of the deaths were caused by falling debris, with hundreds injured and thousands of homes damaged.

“Please go to a place with higher ground, while remaining calm and not panicking,” Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the agency for meteorology, climatology and geophysics, told local TV.

The incident comes a week after a magnitude-6.4 quake killed at least 17, injured more than 160 and damaged hundreds of buildings.