SUMATRA HIT BY 2 EARTHQUAKES

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 has hit Sumatra, a day after another powerful quake devastated parts of the Indonesian island. Officials now say at least 200 bodies have been found from the earlier 7.6 magnitude quake. Hundreds of buildings, including hospitals, collapsed in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. Rescue workers said the number of dead is expected to rise significantly with thousands predicted to have died. The first earthquake struck at 1716 local time (1016 GMT) on Wednesday, some 85km (55 miles) under the sea, north-west of Padang. The second quake was on land and struck at 0852 local time (0152 GMT) on Thursday, about 225km south-east of Padang at a depth of about 25km.