At least two people have been confirmed dead on the outlying Indonesian island of Nias after a huge earthquake struck waters off the coast of Sumatra, police told AFP on Tuesday. Sergeant Damanik of Nias police said there could be further fatalities but a power outage was hampering efforts to determine the number of people affected. "There's damage but it's not clear because it's dark and electricity is out," he said by telephone. Earlier, a senior official on the island told Jakarta's Metro TV that "tens" of people had perished in the quake.
"I can say that tens of people died but I cannot be sure," Agus Mendrofa, the deputy chief of Nias said.
He said hundreds of houses had collapsed in the island's capital Gumung Sitoli. Many were left trapped under buildings as thousands of residents fled to higher ground.
He said there were several aftershocks after the main quake.
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