Quake wave 'carried men 200m inland'
Updated
The 7.5-magnitude undersea quake hit Indonesia's Kepulauan Mentawai region. (Google Maps)
An Australian who runs a boat charter business in Indonesia says waves generated by an earthquake off the coast have carried bystanders up to 200 metres inland.
The 7.5-magnitude undersea quake hit Indonesia's Kepulauan Mentawai region at 9:42pm (local time) at a shallow depth of 14.2 kilometres, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The Indonesian Geophysics and Meteorology agency lifted an earlier tsunami warning.
But Captain Rick Hallet has told the Nine Network that huge waves devastated one of his boats which was anchored off Pagai Island in the Menatawi group, which is popular with Australian surf tourists.
"We threw whatever we could - the floating surfboards, fenders, whatever else we could overboard, and all jumped in the water," he said.
"Then some guys were carried probably up to 200 metres inland on the wave.
"Fortunately most of us had something to hold onto, various floating objects, and managed to avoid the trees."
Another Australian who works for a surf charter company in Indonesia says the waves have caused a serious boat crash in the Mentawi islands.
Jamie Gray, a tour operator told ABC NewsRadio that his colleagues described a terrifying ordeal.
"The Midas, which was a boat with our clients on it, has collided with another boat called the Freedom due to a three-metre tsunami and that's knocked everybody off the boat," he said.
"Our major concern is to ensure the safety of all our clients and make account for them so we can obviously inform their friends and family."
Residents reported shaking as far away as the West Sumatran provincial capital of Padang, but fears of widespread damage eased a few hours after the quake.
"There was shaking that went on for about three seconds or so," Disaster Management Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said.
"Residents panicked and ran to the hills but now they are starting to come down. There's no report of casualties or damage."
Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity, and the archipelago is frequently struck by powerful earthquakes.
- ABC/AFP
First posted
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