Manokwari airport closed after quakes

An Express Air airlines flight heading for Manokwari from Jayapura, Papua, was forced to fly back following the decision. A series of powerful earthquakes hit at dawn, cutting power lines, badly damaging buildings and killing at least three people in the area.

Manokwari Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Pit Wahyudi said that the police were working to evacuate two people buried under debris of Mutiara Hotel. Two hotels collapsed and hundreds of houses damaged after the quake, he said. A number of city residents has been evacuated to the local military command headquarters. There are approximately 70,000 people living in Manokwari.