A powerful earthquake has struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and was also felt in Singapore and Malaysia. The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 6.3, and was centred near the town of Padang. Local radio reported that at least nine people have been killed but there are fears the number of deaths may rise as many buildings have collapsed. The quake struck at 1049 local time (0349 GMT), causing panic among residents in western Sumatra.

Among the dead were several children and at least one teacher, reported killed in the towns of Solok and Batusangkar when school buildings collapsed. Rescue workers confirmed that hundreds of buildings had collapsed. Indonesian television pictures showed pictures of panic and confusion at hospitals in the region as many people rushed for treatment. The mayor of Solok, Samsurahim, told ElShinta radio that three people had been killed in a fire after the earthquake and hundreds of people were injured in his town. "We have asked for medical help... our facilities here are insufficient".

Aftershock Residents of some coastal areas fled to higher ground, but local officials said there was no risk of a tsunami as the earthquake happened under land rather than under the sea. Map showing Sumatra The quake was also felt in western coastal areas of Malaysia, and several tall buildings in Singapore's business district swayed slightly due to the tremor. Traders said there was no impact on financial trading.

A second tremor of magnitude 6.0 struck the region two hours later, said the US Geological Survey. Indonesia sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, and experiences frequent earthquakes - as well as tsunamis triggered by underwater earthquakes.

Last year, more than 500 people died when a tsunami hit an area of the Java coast after an undersea earthquake. And in the Asian tsunami of December 2004, over 130,000 people died in the northern island of Sumatra when waves destroyed swathes of the province of Aceh.