3 tourists killed, nearly 200 injured as quake, landslides hit Indonesia's Lombok

JAKARTA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Three tourists, including two foreigners, were killed and 200 others injured after an earthequake and quake-triggered landslides struck a tourist resort on Lombok island of Indonesia's West Nusa Tenggara province, a local disaster official said on Monday.

The natural disaster took place in Tiu Kelep waterfall tourist resort in Senaru village of Lombok Utara district after the 5.8-magnitude quake jolted the areas on Sunday, senior official of the disaster management agency in the province Agus Nugroho Rahardjo said.

Two of the killed were Malaysian nationals who were among 38 Malaysian tourists visiting the resort, and another victim was an Indonesian, said Nugroho.

The landslides trapped a total of 35 visitors including Malaysian tourists and all of them have been rescued safely. Twenty visitors were badly injured and dozens of others sustained minor injuries, said Nugroho.

"Most of those with serious injuries suffered broken bones, and all of them have been rushed to a nearby hospital," he told Xinhua over phone from the province.

The Lombok island is undergoing reconstruction and rehabilitation after a series of strong earthquakes last year.

The latest quake injured 182 people and destroyed 526 houses on Sunday, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a press conference.

Lombok Utara district was hardest hit by the disaster, where 119 people were wounded, while 37 others were injured in Lombok Timur district, said Sutopo.

The quake striking off the island was centered 24 km northeast Lombok Timur of West Nusa Tenggara province with the depth of 10 km, according to the meteorology and geophysics agency.