Landslide Kills 2 on Indonesia's Lombok

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A moderately strong earthquake triggered a landslide that hit a popular waterfall on the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok on Sunday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens, officials said. Hundreds of homes were damaged by the quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 5.5 and struck at a depth of 23 kilometers (15 miles).

The earthquake was felt across the island, panicking residents still recovering from a major quake last August that killed more than 300 people and left thousands homeless.

Sunday's quake triggered a landslide from Mount Rinjani and hit dozens of tourists at the Tiu Kelep waterfall located in the foothills of the active volcano, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman.

Two Malaysians, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in the landslide, Nugroho said.

He said rescuers managed to evacuate 22 Malaysians and 14 Indonesians from the waterfall site, and 50 others -- mostly local surveyors from government institutions, the military and the police -- from the mountainous area.

Forty-four people were injured in the quake, including eight Malaysians, Nugroho said. About 500 homes were damaged, including 32 that were flattened.

Indonesia sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and has frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

(KA)