Jakarta - Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon, offered his country's condolences to the people of Indonesia following the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in West  Sumatra which struck on September 30, 2009.

"Canada is deeply concerned about the people of Indonesia who fell victim of the  earthquake in W Sumatra and by the impact on their lives and livelihood," said Minister Cannon on a press release received here on Friday.

"To date, we have no reports of Canadian death or injuries due to the earthquake. Canadian officials in Ottawa and at the Embassy of Canada in Jakarta will continue to monitor the impact of the earthquake in Indonesia, and are in close contact with Indonesian authorities," the Minister added.

"We invite Canadian citizens who are in the affected area to call their homes and reassure their loved ones, even if they have not been affected by the disaster,"  the minister said.

The 7.6 strong temblor hit West Sumatra on Wednesday (September 30) at 17.16 local time.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency the epicenter of the quake was located at 0.84 degrees southern latitude and 99.65 degrees northern longitude, 57 kilometers northwest of Pariaman district, West Sumatra, at a depth of 71 kilometers, as well as 78 km northwest of Padang, 99 km southwest of Bukit Tinggi, and 106 km northeast of Mentawai Islands.

Apart from devastating houses and buildings, the quake also caused fires in several parts of Padang city.

Up till Thursday at 11.00 local time, the death toll of the powerful earthquake had increased  to 215, according to data from the Natural Disaster Mitigation Task Force (Satkorlak).

The figure comprised fatalities in three different areas in West Sumatra, namely Padang (139 people), Padang Pariaman district (62 people) and Pariaman city (14 people).

According to ANTARA`s observation, thousands of people are estimated still trapped in the collapsed buildings in several areas in West Sumatra`s capital city, Padang, such as  Mara Palam district, Adira Finance building in Sawahan district, Nurul Iman mosque, Sari Pharmacy Store and Gama course building.

Other parts of the province affected by the impact of the earthquake were the districts of South Pesisir , West Pasaman, Agam, Solok, and Solok city. Unfortunately, data on victims in these areas had not yet reached the Disaster Mitigation Post centered at the West Sumatra Governor`s office.

On the day after the earthquake, streets in Padang city were deserted and cracked in a number of locations. Thousands of electricity poles had sagged or collapsed, and power supply had been cut off..

-Antara, 02 october 2009-