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.

At least 59 people are reported to have been killed but there are fears the number of deaths may rise as many buildings are said to 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. Telephone and power lines have also been knocked down, cutting communications to some of the areas affected.

Indonesian television pictures showed pictures of panic and confusion at hospitals in the region as people rushed for treatment.

Aftershock

The mayor of Solok, Samsurahim, told ElShinta radio that three people had been killed in a fire at a school after the earthquake.

He said hundreds of people in his town had been injured, mostly with broken bones and cuts.

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.

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.

PHOTO CAPTION

A worker uses heavy equipment to clear mud from a road leading to the site where a landslide killed at least 32 people in Ruteng, Manggarai district, 3 March. (AFP)

BBC