Five people were killed and a child was critically injured when a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of northern Indonesia yesterday, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said today.

At least two people died because of heart attacks, three others died of shock and a child was critically injured when a tree fell, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesperson for the agency, who gave no further details.

“Casualties and other damage are still being assessed,” he said in a text message sent to reporters.

The 8.2 magnitude earthquake sent panicked residents into the streets in Aceh and was felt as far away as southern India. It was followed by a series of strong aftershocks.

But there was no repeat of a big tsunami that followed a quake in roughly the same area in 2004. That disaster killed at least 230,000 people in 13 Indian ocean countries.

- Reuters