'Volcano tsunami' hits Indonesia, 168 killed, nearly 700 injured

JAKARTA: At least 43 people have been killed and over six hundred people have been wounded in a tsunami that hit Indonesia on Saturday. The tsunami is likely to have been caused by a volcano known as the "child" of the legendary Krakatoa, officials said. The death toll is likely to increase.

The waves hit beaches in South Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9.30 pm local time (1430 GMT) on Saturday leaving dozens of buildings in tatters.

As per officials, the tsunami may have been triggered by an abnormal tidal surge due to a new moon and an underwater landslide following the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. The national disaster agency said that Indonesia's geological agency was investigating the cause.

Anak Krakatoa is a small volcanic island that emerged from the ocean half a century after Krakatoa's deadly 1883 eruption.

Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles the so-called Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where tectonic plates collide and a large portion of the world's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The country regularly experiences deadly earthquakes, including most recently in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island where a quake and tsunami killed thousands of people.

Anak Krakatoa is one of 127 active volcanoes which run the length of the archipelago. 

(With agency inputs)