Scramble to reach Indonesia quake survivors as toll hits 22

Rescuers battled today to reach survivors from an earthquake in Indonesia's Aceh province that has killed at least 22 people, including several children who died when a mosque collapsed.

More than 200 people were also injured in Aceh's mountainous interior when the strong 6.1-magnitude quake struck yesterday, flattening buildings and triggering landslides.

The quake, which struck at a shallow depth of just 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), has sparked panic in the natural disaster-prone region where more than 170,000 people were killed by the quake-triggered tsunami of 2004.

In Blang Mancung village, Central Aceh district, at least six children were killed and 14 trapped when a mosque collapsed during a Koran reading session.

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India monsoon floods leave 138 dead

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Military helicopters dropped emergency supplies Wednesday to thousands of tourists and pilgrims stranded by flash floods that tore through towns and temples in northern India, killing at least 138 people, officials said. Thousands of people have already been evacuated after floods and landslides caused by early monsoon rains wrought devastation through the region in the Himalayan foothills, they said. "As of now we know that over 65,000 people are stranded," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi. "We are committed to rescuing everyone now that the rains have stopped," the minister said, adding that the army has evacuated 5,000 people cut off by the downpour. Torrential rains at least three times as heavy as usual have hit the state of Uttarakhand, often called the "Land of the Gods," where Hindu shrines and temples built high in the mountains attract many pilgrims. 

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