Strong quake in Indonesia’s Sulawesi kills at least 7 and injures hundreds

Strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake kills at least seven and injures hundreds as it topples buildings and triggers landslides on Indonesian island of Sulawesi

  • A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit the Indonesia island of Sulawesi today
  • At least seven people have been killed and hundreds left injured by the tremor
  • Rescuers were searching through rubble of collapsed building for survivors

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island killed at least seven people and injured hundreds on Friday, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said, as panicked residents fled to safer areas after many buildings were damaged.

The epicentre of the quake was nearly four northeast of Majene city at a depth of around six miles.

Initial information from the country’s disaster mitigation agency showed that four people had died and 637 others were injured in Majene, while there were three more fatalities and two dozen injured in the the neighbouring province of Mamuju.

Rescuers gather as a collapsed building in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, after this morning’s quake

Workers from Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency look for quake survivors in Mamuju

Workers from Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency look for quake survivors in Mamuju

Many buildings in the city of Mamuju were destroyed in the quake, leaving desperate survivors searching the rubble for missing people

Many buildings in the city of Mamuju were destroyed in the quake, leaving desperate survivors searching the rubble for missing people

Thousands had fled their homes to seek safety when the quake hit just after 1am local time on Friday morning, damaging at least 60 homes, the agency said.

The quake was felt strongly for about seven seconds but did not trigger a tsunami warning.

Videos on social media showed residents fleeing to higher ground on motorcycles, and a child trapped under the rubble as people tried to remove debris with their bare hands.

Location of the earthquake's epicenter in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Location of the earthquake’s epicenter in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Some buildings were badly damaged, including two hotels, the governor’s office and a mall, Sudirman Samual, a journalist based in Mamuju, north of the epicentre, told Reuters.

At least one route into Mamuju had been cut off, he said, due to damage to a bridge.

Hours earlier on Thursday, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck in the same district damaging several houses.

Indonesia’s disaster agency said a series of quakes in the past 24 hours had caused at least three landslides, and the electricity supply had been cut.

Straddling the so-called Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, Indonesia, a nation of high tectonic activity, is regularly hit by earthquakes.

In 2018, a devastating 6.2-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami struck the city of Palu, in Sulawesi, killing thousands of people.