Quake hits Indonesia: Nearly 700 hikers trapped on volcano

 Lombok [Indonesia]: More than 680 people were trapped on a volcano on Lombok, an Indonesian tourist island, after a deadly earthquake claimed more than a dozen lives.

"689 people are still trapped on and around the 3,726 meter (12,224 ft) mountain following the shallow 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Sunday morning," CNN quoted National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, as saying.

Currently, a rescue operation is underway to save those trapped tourists in landslides on Mount Rinjani, an active volcano on the Lombok island.

"According to Indonesia's national disaster management agency, 149 climbers are still believed to be stranded on the volcano itself, while 500 people are trapped in Sembalun Village on the volcano's slopes, and an additional 40 tourists are in nearby Batu Ceper," reported the CNN.

An earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude on the Richter Scale struck off eastern Indonesia on Sunday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Indonesia is located in the Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, which is vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.