AN earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale rocked the Sir John Guise Stadium in Lae yesterday evening forcing athletes and spectators scurrying from the indoor complex.
Confusion reigned from 6.49pm when the quake hit to almost an hour later.
The quake lasted less than a minute.
But when it hit, the spectators and athletes trampled over each other to squeeze through the doors during the boxing finals.
At the volleyball complex, Central and NCD had to abandon their game as the entire structure swayed.
A pregnant mother believed to be from Morobe was trampled on, eye witnesses said. She was later taken to Angau Memorial Hospital.
A Sepik youth said he was walking to the stadium from Top Town when he suffered a fractured finger after being hit with a piece of timber as he and several friends tried to rescue women who had been abducted.
Police could not be reached last night.
The night fixtures of the third PNG Games were cancelled with officials expected to reschedule them today.
The earth quake had its epicenter north of Wasu, Morobe province.
Government seismologist at Konedobu, NCD Mathew Moyhoi said the epicentre was 5.9’ south latitude and 147.2’ longitude. It was from a depth of 109km.
Some of the impact could be felt in Madang, West New Britain, and even Oro, he said.
And because it was so deep, he said, faint reverberations could have been felt as far as Goroka, Eastern Highlands or even Port Moresby, NCD.
He ruled out any likelihood of a tsunami but warned that there would be aftershocks.