Earthquake in Indonesia's Aceh province kills at least 97

At least 97 people have been killed and dozens more are missing after a strong earthquake hit Indonesia's Aceh province.

The US Geological Survey said the shallow 6.5-magnitude quake was centred about six miles north of Reuleut, a town in northern Aceh.

It struck just after 5am local time (10pm Tuesday in the UK), causing dozens of buildings to collapse and sending terrified residents running onto the streets.

Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho said the death toll was expected to rise, as people are believed to be trapped in the debris of collapsed buildings.

He said there was severe damage to more than 200 shops or houses and a hospital.

Some 14 mosques have collapsed.

At least 273 people have been injured, about a quarter of them seriously.

Experts said the quake was unlikely to trigger a tsunami, but at least five aftershocks were felt in the hours afterwards.

More than 1,000 soldiers and about 900 police officers have been sent to the worst-hit areas to establish shelters.

A frantic rescue effort involving dozens of villagers and soldiers is under way in Meureudu, a severely hit town in Pidie Jaya district.

Meureudu resident Hasbi Jaya pulled his two children unconscious from the debris of their home.

He said: "Everything was destroyed.

"It was pitch black because the electricity was out.

"I looked around and all my neighbours' homes were completely flattened."

The district health office chief Said Abdullah said nearly 200 people had come to the hospital with injuries but many would not go inside, fearing aftershocks.

"We took the beds out because nobody is daring to enter the hospital," he said.

Another health official said that at least eight of the dead are children.

One woman who lives in Pidie Jaya said her husband had grabbed hold of her and carried her out of the house as their children cried.

"It terrified me," Fitri Abidin said. "I was having difficulty breathing or walking.

"We ran to a nearby hill because our house is near a beach.

"We were afraid a tsunami can come at any time."

In the nearby district of Bireuen, a teacher at an Islamic school died after being hit by falling debris, health worker Achmad Taufiq said.

The region is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.