Four people killed as floating restaurant collapses after magnitude 5.5 quake

09 February 2023 , 09:32

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Four people killed as floating restaurant collapses after magnitude 5.5 quake

Four people have reportedly been killed after an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck the north coast of Indonesia.

The four were found in a collapsed restaurant building, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement.

Homes, public facilities and hospitals were also damaged by the quake, which was felt for a few seconds by locals.

"The jolts of the quake were felt strongly here. They damaged houses, a restaurant and buildings," Jonathan Koirewoa, manager of the operation control centre for the provincial disaster management and mitigation agency, told Xinhua news agency.

The earthquake did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.

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People stand on the roofing of collapsed shops in the port after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake in Jayapura (AFP via Getty Images)

The four people were dining at the Cirita Cafe in Jayapura when it crumbled as the quake rocked and they were unable to flee the collapsed building in time.

"A cafe collapsed and four people died there. It fell into the sea", Asep Khalid, head of the Jayapura disaster mitigation agency said in a press release.

Putri Kurita, 30, bolted for the exit at another restaurant fearing it would collapse: "I was having lunch when things suddenly swayed, the jolt got much stronger," she told AFP.

People stand on the roofing of collapsed shops in the port after a 5.1-magnitude earthquake in Jayapura (AFP via Getty Images)

Indonesia's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency said the earthquake struck at 1:28 pm local time on Thursday, around one kilometre southwest of Jayapura at a depth of ten kilometres.

The country is among several others in South East Asia that sits on the so-called Pacific 'Ring of Fire'.

The region, which straddles the Americas and most of eastern Asia, hosts the vast majority of the world's volcanos and earthquakes.

Patients are evacuated outside a hospital after earthquake on February 9 (AFP via Getty Images)

Jayapura alone is a highly active area, with officials from the BMKG reporting that more than 800 quakes have already rocked the city in early 2023.

The majority are of a low magnitude and estimates say only 68 of the 800 were felt.

It comes just days after an earthquake in Turkey killed at least 15,000 people across the country and in neighbouring Syria.

The powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday, razing buildings to the ground and trapping thousands beneath the rubble.

Over 3,400 people killed as massive 7.8 magnitude quake rocks Syria and Turkey

Rachel Hagan