JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – A strong, shallow earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Sulawesi just after midnight, causing landslides and people fleeing their homes in the dark of night. At least three people were killed and 24 injured, but Indonesian officials said they were still gathering information from devastated areas.
In a video released by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, a girl trapped in the wreckage of a house called for help and said her mother was alive but could not move out. “Please help me, it hurts,” the girl told rescuers. They replied that they would like to help her.
In the video, rescuers said an excavator was needed to rescue them. Other photos in the video damaged and even knocked down a cut-off bridge and houses. TV stations reported the earthquake damaged part of a hospital and patients were relocated to an emergency tent outside.
Another video shows a father crying hopelessly and asking for people’s help to save his children buried under tons of rubble in his house. “My children there … they are trapped inside, please help,” he cried in panic.
About 2,000 displaced people were evacuated to several temporary shelters. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.2 magnitude earthquake early Friday was 36 kilometers south of Mamuju province in the western Sulawesi province, at a depth of 18 kilometers.
At least 62 homes, a public health center and a military office were damaged in Mamuju and landslides were stopped at three locations and a highway blocking Mamuju connecting with the Majene district, said disaster agency spokeswoman Raditya Jati. He said the agency was still collecting data from areas affected by the quake.
On Thursday, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 occurred in the same region under the sea and damaged several houses but caused no apparent casualties.
Indonesia, a vast island group of 260 million people, is regularly hit by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis due to its location on the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific basin.