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Office workers flee buildings in Indonesian capital as quake strikes

Ersin Çelik
10:02 - 23/01/2018 Tuesday
Update: 10:31 - 23/01/2018 Tuesday
REUTERS
People run down the emergency stairs at The City Tower building as an earthquake hits Jakarta
People run down the emergency stairs at The City Tower building as an earthquake hits Jakarta

Officeworkers fled high-rise buildings in the Indonesian capital on Tuesday after a strong earthquake shook the city, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

The magnitude 6.1 quake struck off the island of Java, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but authorities ruled out the risk of a tsunami.

Many people ran along the streets of downtown Jakarta, pointing at the buildings above them, witnesses said. Metro TV showed patients being evacuated from a hospital.

The quake struck about 104 km (64.62 miles) west of the city of Sukabumi, at a depth of 33 km (21 miles). Jakarta is about 100 km (62 miles) away.

"We felt the earthquake for three to five minutes," said Rudy Togatorop, 35, who works at the Chilean embassy.

"I was just sitting down, then I felt the building swaying. The emergency stairs were very narrow. I was worried if something would happen."

Indonesia is regularly hit by earthquakes in one of the world's most quake-prone regions.

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