Deadly 6.2-magnitude quake hits Indonesia's Sumatra

 A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Friday, leaving at least eight people dead.

At least five people died in Pasaman district and three others in the neighboring district of West Pasaman, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said on Saturday.

At least 435 houses were damaged and more than 6,000 people fled their homes to temporary shelters, agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.

Strong quake on Friday

Authorities released photos showing collapsed homes and a school in the West Pasaman district with its ceiling blown open.

The quake also triggered a landslide that buried homes in West Pasaman district, officials said.

No tsunami warning was issued.

The strong and shallow earthquake hit the islands north at a depth of 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Residents said the quake came minutes after a less violent earthquake recorded by USGS as 5.0 magnitude.

The tremors were felt strongly in the nearby cities of Padang in West Sumatra province and in Pekanbaru in Riau Province.

The shocks were also felt as far away as Malaysia and Singapore.

"Earth tremors were... felt in certain parts of Singapore at about 9:45 a.m.," a police statement said.

The police and emergency services said they "received several calls from the public reporting these tremors."

Malaysia's meteorological department said in a tweet that "vibrations" were felt by people in the peninsula's western states.

"Vibrations felt in the western Peninsular area especially in Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor," the department said.

dvv/sms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)