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Indonesian earthquake toll nears 100 as crews search rubble for survivors

Nearly 100 people have been killed and many hundreds more injured after a powerful earthquake struck Indonesia's Aceh province Wednesday, toppling buildings and flattening a mosque.

People rushed to save those trapped under the rubble, using their bare hands to remove debris while earthmovers assisted with rescue efforts.

Medical volunteers continued to offer assistance as light faded, transporting the injured to hospitals, Reuters reports.

Rescue workers pull victims from destroyed buildings in Indonesia's Aceh Province. Source: Getty
Rescue workers pull victims from destroyed buildings in Indonesia's Aceh Province. Source: Getty
Survivors take rest at the evacuation center in Aceh. Source: AP
Survivors take rest at the evacuation center in Aceh. Source: AP

A Red Crescent volunteer said health workers were struggling to keep up with the influx of the injured.

The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake struck Pidie Jaya district at dawn, as some in the predominantly Muslim region prepared for morning prayers.

The Aceh provincial government confirmed in a statement that 93 people had been killed and more than 500 more were injured, many in a serious condition.

A spokesman for Indonesia's national disaster management agency, Sutopo Nugroho, said a state of emergency had been declared in the region that sits on the northern tip of Sumatra in the west of the country.

"We are now focusing on searching for victims and possible survivors," Nugroho said, his agency putting the death toll at 94.

Images from Pidie Jaya showed injured victims being treated outside the main hospital there.

Rescues work to pull survivors from  the rubble. Source: AP
Rescues work to pull survivors from the rubble. Source: AP
Houses of worship destroyed by Wednesday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Source Getty
Houses of worship destroyed by Wednesday's 6.4 magnitude earthquake. Source Getty

Meureudu resident Hasbi Jaya, 37, said his family was asleep when the powerful quake struck.

"We immediately ran outside the house but it crumbled. Everything from the roof to the floor collapsed, and was destroyed," he told AFP.

"I looked around and all my neighbours' houses were also completely destroyed."

The head of the local disaster agency, Puteh Manaf, said the sole hospital in the district had been overwhelmed by the number of injured.

The quake struck 18 kilometres north-east of Pidie Jaya, at a depth of 10 kilometres, the national geophysics agency said.

The earthquake measured off the coast of Indonesia. Source: Geoscience Australia
The earthquake measured off the coast of Indonesia. Source: Geoscience Australia

Many residents had woken up to perform morning prayers when the quake struck.

"I was so panicked and afraid. I'm still shaking," said Amanda, a doctor in Banda Aceh.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area noted for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

A magnitude-9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island on December 26, 2004, spawned the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in 11 countries, including about 180,000 in Aceh alone.

With Reuters.

News break – December 8