Tawau residents shaken by quake

Stirred from sleep: Residents and hotel guests gathering in the street in Tawau following the earthquake which caused items in a shop (right) to fall off the shelves.

KOTA KINABALU: Residents around Tawau were jolted from their sleep and those living in high-rise buildings rushed down when a strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Tarakan early yesterday.

The tremors lasting between 15 and 30 seconds were felt at about 2.50am. The epicentre was 96km south-west of Tawau in Tarakan, Kalimantan, Indonesia.