No Pinoys hurt in strong Sumatra quake — envoy

The Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia eased fears that Filipinos might have been hurt in the 7.7-magnitude quake that jolted the northwest island of Sumatra early Wednesday morning.

Ambassador Vidal Querol said no Filipino was injured in the quake that struck at 5:15 a.m. He said the information came from his "focal person" in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital and the largest city of Aceh that is located in Sumatra.

"Ang ulat po sa atin, wala pong Pinoy na nasaktan. Pero wala lang pong power doon. Ang pagkawala ng power ay resulta ng lindol (We received a report that no Filipino was hurt but there is still no power in the area)," Querol, a former Philippine police general, said in an interview on dzBB radio.

According to the December 2008 records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority, there are more than 11,600 overseas Filipino workers in Indonesia.

An Associated Press report said state meteorologists in Indonesia have issued a tsunami warning after the quake, but lifted it two hours later.

Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf likewise said there was no initial report of damages or casualties and that “the situation is under control.

A 2004 tsunami triggered by a magnitude-9.2 earthquake in the western coast of Sumatra killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries on the Indian Ocean basin. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMANews.TV

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