Quake shakes Bali

DENPARSAR Tourists fled their hotels in panic on Bali, Wednesday, after the popular Indonesian holiday island was rattled by an early morning earthquake.

The 5.5-magnitude quake struck inland about 10 kilometres (six miles) northeast of the Balinese capital, Denpasar, and not far from the concentration of holiday resorts in the south of the island.

There were no reports of casualties and damage after the quake struck just after 0700 (2300 GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 118 kilometres, but some holidaymakers got a shock.

“Dozens of our guests ran out of their rooms when the quake happened,” Nyoman Pasek, a staff member at the Hotel Sayang Maha Mertha in the popular tourist area of Kuta, told AFP.

“Everything is now under control again, back to normal.”

Local residents also said the quake briefly caused panic on the neighbouring holiday island of Lombok.

National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the quake was felt strongly in the capital Denpasar for five seconds.

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