At least 272 people were killed and another 412 remain missing after a powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami in western Indonesia, an official said Wednesday. "We've recovered 272 bodies. At least 412 people are still missing," West Sumatra provincial disaster management official Ade Edward said. The death toll in a powerful tsunami off the western coast of Indonesia has increased to 272, with 412 people missing and several villages flooded, regional media said on Wednesday. The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, which struck off the coast of western Sumatra. The epicenter was 78 kilometers south of Indonesia's Pagai Selatan Island. "According to the headman of one of the affected villages, the first 5-meter long wave preceded the 30-meter one," Indonesian news web site Detik.com cited the head of the legislative assembly of the Western Sumatra province as saying. Members of a helicopter fly-over mission said waves had swept away several villages on the Indian Ocean coastline and had flooded a significant part of the costal areas. Indonesia is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic activity. A series of powerful quakes hit the country last year, killing over a thousand people and destroying hundreds of buildings.
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