Indonesia quake kills one

A strong 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sulawesi island early yesterday, killing one person, toppling homes as people slept and forcing thousands to flee houses and hotels.

The quake triggered a tsunami warning from US officials for an area within 1,000 kilometres of the epicentre but a similar alert by Indonesia was withdrawn shortly after being issued.

Rustam Pakaya, head of Health Ministry's Crisis Centre, said a 56-year old man was killed in the village of Kwandang and 23 people injured. He added that houses and buildings had collapsed in Gorontalo province.

The US Geological Survey (USGS), which initially estimated the quake had a magnitude of 7.8 before downgrading it to 7.5, said it struck 136 kilometres off the coastal town of Gorontalo at a depth of 21 kilometres.

The Indonesian state-run Antara news agency said thousands of people fled their homes and hotel rooms in Gorontalo - which has a population of several hundred thousand - when the quake struck about 1.02 am.

AFP