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Earthquake strikes Indonesia collapsing restaurant into sea and killing four

An earthquake has struck Indonesia has killed four people after magnitude 5.4 tremors cast a floating restaurant into the sea. The quake struck Jayapura, the capital of Papua this morning, around 1.28pm local time, hitting at a depth of 10 kilometres. Tremors shook the Cirita Cafe, which crumbled into the ocean, trapping four women in the process, local authorities have said.

First responders found the women's bodies in the Jayapura Bay.

Officials have not confirmed any other deaths, but some local residents were injured by the tremors.

The quake also damaged other buildings and infrastructure, among them the Jayapura Mall.

The country is among several others in South East Asia that sits on the so-called Pacific 'Ring of Fire'.

The region, which straddles the Americas and most of eastern Asia, hosts the vast majority of the world's volcanos and earthquakes.

Jayapura alone is a highly active area, with officials from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reporting that more than 800 have already rocked the city in early 2023 on January 23.

The majority are of a low magnitude, with BKMG estimating that residents only felt 68 "quite strong" tremors.

While many of the areas within the Ring of Fire see devastating earthquakes, no tremors felt in the region compare to those that rocked Turkey and Syria this week. 

Earthquake© GETTY

The neighbouring countries first experienced magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes on Monday, February 6, with a series of aftershocks hammering communities in the days following.

Tens and thousands of people have died, with today's combined numbers crossing 16,000 and still growing, with up to 13 million people thought affected to some extent.

The current death toll in Turkey, where the central government can provide reliable estimates, is 12,873.

In Syria, where the total dead is more difficult to estimate due to the ongoing political upheaval, the toll has reached 3,162. 

Jayapura© GETTY

Together, the number of people killed by this week's earthquakes now sits a 16,035.

The situation is compounded by a slow response in both nations, experts have said.

Speaking to Sky News, Retired Major General Sir Tim Cross said there was a lack of coordination among emergency services.

He said: "The sadness of the slow response... You need people on the ground allocating resources, understanding what is needed."

"You need to clear the roads to get in and out of these areas.

"You need support helicopters to get people away from the danger area and further danger. So there is a whole raft of issues that are going on here."

He added: "You've got the people who are buried but you also have the survivors.

"Those survivors need to be given shelter, water, food, sanitation, medical support, power - all of those issues that are essentially logistics issues."