Rescuers race to find quake survivors in Sulawesi

MAMUJU • Rescuers scrambled to find buried survivors yesterday after a powerful earthquake on Indonesia's Sulawesi island killed dozens, injured hundreds and left more feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, as monsoon rains lashed the disaster-struck region.

At least 46 people died after the 6.2-magnitude quake struck in the early hours of Friday, triggering panic among residents of the island, which was hit by a 2018 quake-tsunami disaster that killed thousands.

Search and rescue workers worked through the night as they pulled dozens of bodies from beneath collapsed buildings in Mamuju, a city of about 110,000 people in West Sulawesi province, where a hospital was flattened and a shopping mall lay in ruins.

Others were killed south of the city after the quake struck, as a strong aftershock jolted the area yesterday morning.

Grieving relatives began burying the dead at a local cemetery.

Planes and boats packed with food and other emergency supplies were arriving, with the navy reportedly sending a ship equipped with mobile medical services as Mamuju's still-standing hospitals were flooded with hundreds of injured people.

Rescuers said a shortage of heavy equipment was slowing the search effort, while thousands left homeless by the quake set up makeshift shelters on higher ground - many little more than tarpaulin-covered tents that were lashed by heavy downpours.

"We're running out of food. There hasn't been any aid from the government yet," 24-year-old survivor Desti told Agence France-Presse from hard-hit Majene city, adding that some survivors at the camp needed medical attention.

"Some people are using coconut leaves as mats," she added.

Many survivors are unable to return to their destroyed homes or too scared to go back, fearing more quakes or a tsunami, said Ms Desti, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

The authorities have not given a figure for the number of residents who could still be trapped under buildings reduced to twisted metal and concrete chunks, including the hospital that collapsed with more than a dozen patients and staff inside.

The authorities said they had pulled eight corpses from under the building, while five members of a family of eight were found dead in the crumpled remains of their home.

Among the Mamuju survivors was a pair of young sisters plucked from under the mass of concrete and other debris. They are now being treated in hospital.

Landslides triggered by the heavy rain and quake blocked the main access road out of the seaside city, scuttling some residents' efforts to flee.

The city's airport was also damaged, while the regional governor's office was partly destroyed, the authorities said.

Power remained out in parts of Mamuju after the quake damaged its electricity grid.

Save the Children warned that the young were among those most at risk. "While the extent of the earthquake damage is still unclear, we know children are often the most vulnerable following a disaster," it said. "It will be essential that children are prioritised in any response, as they may have witnessed the death of loved ones or become separated from their parents."

The quake's epicentre was 36km south of Mamuju and it had a relatively shallow depth of 18km.

In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu in Central Sulawesi left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE