UN: Indonesia Quake Claimed over 500 Lives
2005-03-30 00:00:00
The Indonesia earthquake has taken at least 518 victims, a UN report stated on Wednesday. A total of 500 people have been killed by the quake on Nias island, nine people - on the Simeulue island, and another nine - on Sumatra island and the Banyak islands, said Masood Hyder, the UN's deputy humanitarian coordinator in the tsunami-hit Indonesian city of Banda Aceh. There will be between 1,000 and 2,000 victims as there are still a lot among the ruins who have not yet been found and also those in several small islands, Kalla also said. On Monday a powerful 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra close to where a quake triggered a tsunami that left nearly 300,000 people dead or missing across Asia.