3 killed as moderate quake rocks Bali

An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 struck Bali on Saturday morning, killing at least three people, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said.

The quake affected the Karangasem and Bangli districts on the eastern side of the tourist island and a search has been concluded, but authorities were continuing to monitor situation.

A landslide triggered by the quake killed two of the victims, the agency said. A third, a three-year old girl, was killed by falling debris.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the 4.8 magnitude quake struck off Banjar Wangsian, and put its depth at 10 kilometres.

“All affected by the quake have been evacuated while data on damage is still being collected by Bali’s disaster mitigation agency,” search and rescue official Gede Darmada said.

Rescue personnel evacuated people across a lake as the road to the stricken community had been cut off by a landslide, he added.

There was no significant damage in other parts of Bali, while the quake was felt also on the neighboring island of Lombok, local media reported.

Bali reopened for international tourists on Thursday after 18 months of pandemic restrictions, but they are only expected to start arriving later this month.

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