Rescuers comb Indonesia quake rubble

People walk near a collapsed mosque following an earthquake in Meuredu, Pidie Jaya. Photo: Reuters
People walk near a collapsed mosque following an earthquake in Meuredu, Pidie Jaya. Photo: Reuters

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that hit Indonesia's Aceh province has passed 100, with one person still missing.

More than 700 people were injured, 136 of them seriously, said Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman for the national disaster management agency.

Rescue efforts resumed on Thursday as medical teams struggled to treat the hundreds of injured as supplies trickled slowly into the area.

Wednesday's 6.5 magnitude quake was the biggest disaster to hit the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island since the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which killed more than 120,000 people in Aceh alone.

Traffic congestion around the epicentre in Aceh's Pidie Jaya regency slowed logistical and medical supplies sent by government agencies and NGOs.

"There are a lot of government trucks and private vehicles loaded with supplies ... but this is causing a lot of congestion and some logjam in the early response," said Paul Dillon of the International Organisation for Migration, a non-government organisation.

Television images showed some patients being treated in makeshift tents in car parks because hospitals were full.

A medical officer checks the condition of an injured child at a hospital in Sigli, Pidie regency....
A medical officer checks the condition of an injured child at a hospital in Sigli, Pidie regency. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia's national disaster management agency put the death toll at 102 on Thursday, with more than 700 injured and thousands left homeless.

The agency said more than 1,000 personnel, including military officers and volunteers, had been deployed to help in search and rescue operations.

The search on Thursday is expected to focus on a collapsed marketplace, where at least five people were believed trapped under rubble.

Some of the victims included people attending a wedding party, The Jakarta Post reported.

"They planned to attend a wedding. They spent the night here," the newspaper quoted resident Muhammad Armi as saying.

Wednesday's quake hit the east coast of the province, about 170km from Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. Aceh's Pidie Jaya regency, with a population of about 140,000, was worst hit.

Experts said the quake did more damage than expected because of poorly constructed buildings.

Aceh was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami centred on its western coast near Banda Aceh on December 26, 2004. That tsunami killed 226,000 people along Indian Ocean shorelines.

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