Local officials in western Indonesia say that they have discovered 296 bodies thus far in collapsed buildings in the aftermath of a strong earthquake that registered an 8.2 on the Richter scale.

Police sergeant Zulkifli Sirait told the Associated Press that the death toll is preliminary and may rise dramatically as more bodies are discovered. 'We still cannot count the number of casualties or the number of collapsed building because it is dark here,' Sirait said. 'It is possible that hundreds of people trapped in the collapsed buildings died.'

Thus far, no tsunamis have been sighted as a result of the earthquake. A 9.0 earthquake hit this area on December 26 and the resulting tsunami killed at least 175,000 people and in 12 Asian nations and left 1.5 million more homeless.

'It seems this earthquake did not trigger a tsunami. If it had, the tsunami would have hit the coastline of Sumatra by now,' said Prihar Yadi, a scientist with the Indonesia Geophysics Agency. 'And if there's no tsunami on the coastline near the epicenter of the quake, there will not be one heading in the other direction.'

People were warned of the upcoming earthquake and the possibility of a tsunami. For now, rescue efforts in Indonesia continue as officials search for survivors and bodies in the wreckage of buildings.