6 killed, buildings damaged by earthquake in Indonesia

JAKARTA -- Six people were killed, another one was seriously injured, and scores of buildings were damaged after a 6.1-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia's western province of East Java on Saturday, officials said.

The earthquake struck at 2 pm Jakarta time (0700 GMT) with the epicenter 96 km south of Kepanjen town of Malang district with a depth of 80 km, Andry Sembiring, an official at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said.

The National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Raditya Jati said that three people died in Lumajang district, two were killed in the border between Lumajang district and Malang district, and another one was found dead in Malang district.

The damage was classified from moderate to serious categories in the area. The risk assessment on the quake was undertaken in the districts of Lumajang, Malang, Blitar and Tulungagung, he said in a statement.

The earthquake also forced residents to flee home and the number of the evacuees was still under calculation, spokesman Jati said.