All Malaysian Students In Quake-Hit Indonesia's Sumatra Area Reported Safe

By Azeman Ariffin JAKARTA, March 3 (Bernama) -- All Malaysian students in Padang, West Sumatra province of Indonesia, are reported to be safe and back home after the authorities withdrew a tsunami warning issued after a strong earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck on Wednesday night. The Malaysian Consul General in Medan (the capital of the North Sumatra province), Amizal Fadzli Rajali, when contacted, said all 70 Malaysian medical students at Universitas Andalas, Padang, were allowed to return to their homes after they had gathered and waited to be evacuated. "The students are undergoing clinical training at a hospital in Padang and have been advised to return home but to remain alert," he told Bernama. The consulate was monitoring the situation and would contact them from time to time with the latest information, he said, adding that calm prevailed. He said Malaysian students in Medan and Aceh were not affected by the earthquake as those areas did not experience any tremors. Meanwhile, thousands of panic-stricken people in the coastal areas of Padang, West Sumatra, are still reluctant to return home despite the authorities having withdrawn the tsunami warning. According to live television news reports, the people were fearful of aftershocks. Police were reported to have made a public announcement that the situation was safe and the tsunami warning had been withdrawn. A villager was quoted as saying the people refused to return as they feared for their safety. He said residents were moving to Padang city after hearing sirens and learning of a tsunami warning. --BERNAMA