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Hundreds of tourists trapped on Lombok mountain following earthquake
Up to 500 tourists are reported to be stranded on a volcano in Lombok following yesterday’s strong earthquake that killed at least 16 people, including one Malaysian tourist.
The 6.4 magnitude quake hit close to the popular Mount Rinjani trekking area damaging many buildings.
At least 160 were injured by falling debris.
A number of tourists, including US and EU citizens, are trapped on the mountain after the earthquake caused landslides, blocking hiking trails.
The earthquake caused the closure of the Rinjani National Park due to ‘an indication of landslide around the mountain’, said Indonesia disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
"The main focus now is evacuation and rescue,’ Nugroho said.
Malaysian Siti Nur Ismawida was killed when a restroom she was in at the foot of Mount Rinjani collapsed.
Several more Malaysians were among the injured, according to the Malaysian foreign ministry.
Many climbers were on the mountain camping near the crater lake at the time and two Spanish climbers were slightly hurt due to falling rocks.
The quake struck early Sunday as most people were still sleeping and was only seven km deep, which intensified its strength.
It was followed by dozens of aftershocks for the next few hours.
Tremors were felt in the main city of Mataram, a two-hour drive away and as far as neighbouring Bali, nearly 100km away.
The epicentre was on land so did not spark fears of a tsunami.
Indonesia is no stranger to seismic disasters as it sits on the ‘ring of fire’ and quakes and volcanic eruptions are common.
Another quake struck just a day earlier on the island of Flores, a few hundred kilometres further east.
The 3,700-metre high Mount Rinjani is still a very active volcanic peak.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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