KUALA LUMPUR: A number of Malaysians are believed to be among 40 tourists affected by a deadly landslide, triggered by a 5.4-magnitude earthquake on Lombok, Indonesia on Sunday.
A report from the Jakarta Post stated that the landslide, which occurred at the Tiu Kelep Waterfall in Lombok’s Bayan district, killed at least five people and injured more than 30.
A North Lombok regency administration spokesman was quoted as saying that most of the victims were Malaysians.
“There were about 40 tourists affected by the landslide around the area. Most of the victims were Malaysians and domestic tourists,” the spokesman said in a statement.
The earthquake, said the statement, also destroyed several houses.
According to the report, four ambulances were dispatched to the scene, as well as medical and rescue personnel. At press time, the team had rescued 19 people and recovered two bodies.
The Bayan district was one of several areas badly damaged by a series of earthquakes that rocked the island between July and August in 2018.
In those incidents, more than 500 people were killed while more than 1,500 were injured.
The first quake, with a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale took place at 2.07pm Western Indonesia Time and the epicentre was 24km northeast of East Lombok-West Nusa Tenggara.
According to Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG), it was followed by another quake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale with the epicentre 7km northwest of East Lombok-West Nusa Tenggara at 2.09pm.
The earthquake was felt in North Lombok, Central Lombok, West Lombok and all the way to Denpasar, in Bali.