Abrar Hussain: After a catastrophic 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia on Sunday, rescue workers are currently searching the ruins of a mosque in Lombok in Indonesia, where it is feared that people were still trapped.
As of writing this report on Tuesday, the death toll from the quake is at least 98, but officials believe that may rise, with almost 20,000 people homeless.
The mosque is one of thousands of buildings in North Lombok that were damaged.
According to the national search and rescue agency, two people have already been rescued from the rubble. Most of the victims were believed to have been killed by falling debris
The earthquake struck on Sunday amid evening prayers. One witness told news agency AFP there may have been as many as 50 people in Jabal Nur mosque in Lading-Lading village at the time.
“Our imam ran, so the others followed,” 53-year-old Kelana said.
At least three crushed bodies have already been retrieved from the rubble.
There were fears of the possibility of finding more victims, after disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said many sandals were found in front of the mosque.
Lombok is a roughly 4,500 sq km (1,700 sq miles) island east of the slightly larger island of Bali.The impact of Sunday’s quake has far exceeded that of another which hit Lombok last week, killing 16 people.
-Source: BBC