JAKARTA, Feb 6: A powerful earthquake killed at least 23 people in an isolated town in Indonesia's Papua province on Friday, prompting panicky residents to flee their homes and camp out in the streets.

"It felt as if the whole earth was crumbling," said Salahuddin, a policeman on duty in the northwestern town of Nabire when the quake, measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, struck nearby.

Offices and shops closed and the town was silent except for the repeated wailing of ambulance sirens, said one resident. "We are all afraid," the resident, Tarnado, told local radio. "The atmosphere is tense."

Police said 180 people were injured, 60 of whom were admitted to hospital, in addition to the 23 dead. They said the toll could rise. "In a disaster of this magnitude, it's quite possible that there could be more victims," said Daud Sihombing, police spokesman for the country's easternmost province.

He said the local hospital, itself badly damaged in the quake, could not treat 12 of the most seriously wounded. Existing patients were moved into a tent.

"Efforts are being made to get them (the 12) out to Timika or Jayapura," he said. The runway at the town's airport was damaged. But Dodi Indrasanto, a senior health department official, said a medical team had managed to land and brought first aid kits, tents and intravenous drips.

Papua is mountainous, jungle-clad and sparsely populated. Roads are scarce and many areas can only be reached by air or sea. Salahuddin said about 400 police were helping residents pick through rubble for loved ones.

"For the moment, many residents are still afraid to return to their homes because of possible aftershocks. They set up makeshift tents outside their homes," he said.

The quake, lasting between 10 and 30 seconds, hit at 6.05am (2105 GMT on Thursday) about seven kilometres from Nabire. -AFP