A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi early Friday, killing at least 46 people, destroying homes, flattening a hospital and triggering landslides.
Rescuers looked for people trapped in the rubble. More than 600 people are said to have been injured in the quake inland between the coastal cities of Mamuju and Majene. No tsunami warning was issued.
“I’m afraid to say how many deaths there are,” said Ardiansyah, a West Sulawesi province emergency officer who, like many Indonesians, uses a name. “We’re evacuating and we’re still building shelters. Many people are buried under the ruins. “
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency announced on Saturday that at least 46 people were killed in the quake. Most of the deaths occurred in Mamuju, the larger of the two coastal cities.
Disaster officials said they expected the number of deaths and injuries from Friday’s earthquake to increase as they received information from cut off areas. At least one bridge was destroyed, roads damaged and communications restricted. The provincial governor’s office in Mamuju was also damaged.
A video released by the Indonesian Civil Protection Agency shows a girl, identified only as an angel, trapped in the ruins of her family’s home. Only her face is visible through a gap in the rubble. At least three others were trapped in the house with her, officials said.
In the video, she tells the rescue workers that she can hear the voice of another girl who is trapped nearby and cannot move.
A rescuer asks, “Is she still breathing?”
Angel replies, “Still. But it is difficult.”
In Mamuju, Mitra Hospital collapsed in the quake. Officials said at least five nurses and patients were trapped inside. Mamuju Government Hospital was also badly damaged, officials said. It was unclear whether anyone had been killed in any of the hospitals.
The flight control tower at Mamuju Commercial Airport was damaged by the quake, and flight control tasks were taken over from the air traffic control office in Makassar, south of Mamuju.
Authorities warned the public to avoid buildings because of the possibility of another major earthquake. Thousands of people sought refuge in emergency shelters.
Six tremors, magnitude 2.9 and greater, were recorded in the 12 hours prior to the great quake at 2:28 a.m. local time. Nine aftershocks were recorded in the hours that followed.
Indonesia lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a line of seismic and volcanic activity that orbits much of the Pacific Ocean and is very prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. In 2018, hundreds more died in an earthquake on the island of Lombok and hundreds more in the islands of Java and Sumatra in a quake and tsunami caused by the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano.
Muktita Suhartono contributed to the coverage.
