Hospital Flattened; At Least 40 Killed And Many Injured In The 6.2 Magnitude Earthquake In Indonesia

An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude hit West Sulawesi on Friday and injured over 600, toppled homes and buildings, triggered landslides and killed nearly 40.

Rescuers search for survivors at a collapsed building in Mamuju on January 15, 2021, after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's Sulawesi Island. Firdaus / AFP

New Delhi: Hundreds of people were injured and about 40 people are said to have died in Indonesia on Friday night when an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.2 hit. The quake was centred 36km south of West Sulawesi’s Mamuju district, at a depth of 18km.

Many people are missing as they are trapped underneath buildings and rubbles. According to a Agence France-Presse report said that Mamjuju hospital was flattened to the ground trapping more than a dozen people which include hospital staff and patients.

"The hospital is flattened -- it collapsed," said Arianto from the rescue agency in Mamuju city, who goes by one name told AFP.

Rescuers were trying to reach a family of eight, who were trapped under their destroyed home. Aside from that, a hotel partially collapsed and the regional governor’s office also suffered a lot of damage.

According to an AP article, in a video shared by the national disaster agency, showed a father crying, asking for help to save his children buried under their toppled house. “They are trapped inside, please help,” he cried. Thousands of people were evacuated to temporary shelters.

The Indonesian Meteorological department warned people of aftershocks and a tsunami and to avoid beachfronts. About two and half years ago, Indonesia had suffered from a huge earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people.

The Agence-France Presse report, when the earthquake hit late at night, many people tried to flee the seaside, but landslides which were a result of persistent rains and the quake had blocked the road out.