Four people buried in Trunyan following earthquake-triggered landslide: BPBD Bali

Denpasar, Bali (ANTARA) - Head of the Bali Provincial Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) I Made Rentin confirmed that four people had got buried in a landslide in Trunyan Village, Bangli District.

The landslide was caused by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked the village on Saturday at 4:18 Central Indonesia Standard Time (WITA).

"In addition, according to the initial information we have received, one resident in Karangasem District is suffering from bone fracture," Rentin confirmed here on Saturday.

Rentin and his staff are currently headed to the location where the victims were buried in Trunyan Village.

"Our colleagues informed that they had managed to rescue one conscious victim. Search is still on for the remaining victims," he noted.

The Bali BPBD head remarked that land access to the location of the incident was closed. Hence, the rescue team had to cross Lake Batur to reach the site.

Head of the Regional III Denpasar Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Agus Wahyu Raharjo noted in a written statement that the tectonic earthquake’s epicenter was located at 8.32 degrees south latitude and 115.45 degrees east longitude.

Precisely, it was located at approximately 8 kilometers (km) to the northwest of Karangasem District, Bali Province, at a depth of 10 km.

"Considering the location of the epicenter and the depth of the hypocenter, the earthquake was a shallow one caused by local fault activity," he explained.

As of 4:42 WITA, the BMKG confirmed the occurrence of two aftershocks of 3.8 magnitude and 2.7 magnitude.

The 3.8-magnitude earthquake of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) III was felt in Karangasem and was noticeably felt inside houses akin to a truck passing by.

Meanwhile, coordinator for Earthquake and Tsunami Mitigation at the Central BMKG, Daryono, stated that the earthquake was not related to the activity of the Flores Thrust Fault. (*)