Death toll in Indonesia quake rises to 22

Quake survivors are treated at an Aceh hospital on July 2, 2013. The death toll from the strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck the Indonesian province has climbed to 22. (AFP)

LAMPAHAN, Indonesia (AFP) – The death toll from a strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck the Indonesian province of Aceh has climbed to 22, a disaster official said.

"So far 22 people have died, 210 people were injured, and thousands of buildings and homes were damaged in the quake (on Tuesday)," National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a text message.

The casualties were spread over the two worst-hit districts of Central Aceh and Bener Meriah, the agency said.

In Central Aceh, six children were killed and 14 others were trapped when a mosque collapsed as they were having a Koran reading session, officials in the district said.

A huge quake struck off Aceh in 2004, sparking a tsunami that killed 170,000 people in the province on Sumatra and tens of thousands more in countries around the Indian Ocean.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.