Pulled from the rubble
Rescuers assist a survivor pulled from the ruin of a government building that collapsed during an earthquake early Friday in Mamuju, Indonesia. The quake that shook Indonesia’s Sulawesi island toppled buildings, triggered landslides and killed scores of people. More photos at arkansasonline.com/116sulawesi/.
MAMUJU, Indonesia — A strong, shallow earthquake shook Indonesia’s Sulawesi island just after midnight Friday, toppling homes and buildings, triggering landslides and killing at least 42 people.
More than 600 people were injured by the magnitude 6.2 quake, which sent people fleeing their homes in the darkness. Authorities were still collecting information about the full scale of casualties and damage in the affected areas.
There were reports of many people trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes and buildings.
The earthquake damaged part of a hospital and patients were moved to an emergency tent outside. Rescuers struggled to extract seven patients and staff who were trapped under tons of rubble. After several hours, an excavator came to help and the rescuers eventually pulled out four survivors and three bodies.
Thousands of displaced people were evacuated to temporary shelters.
The quake was centered 22 miles south of West Sulawesi province’s Mamuju district, at a depth of 11 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Indonesian disaster agency said the death toll climbed to 42 as rescuers in Mamuju found the bodies of 34 people trapped in the rubble of collapsed homes and buildings.