JAKARTA, Feb 21: Tens of thousands of people camped outside their homes on the Indonesian island of Simeulue after a 7.5-magnitude quake that killed three, an official said on Thursday.

The quake hit just off the remote island located near Sumatra on Wednesday, triggering panic across the region lashed by the earthquake-triggered 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed 168,000 people in Indonesia.

“The majority of the population have not returned to their homes. Many are still in the hills while others are just in makeshift shelters built near their houses,” Simeulue’s local government spokesman Abdul Karim said.

According to Indonesian government data, besides the three dead, 51 people were slightly injured, 33 houses and buildings were heavily damaged and 81 others sustained light damage.

—AFP