Efforts were focused on about eight locations within the worst-hit town of Mamuju, where individuals are believed to still be trapped after Friday’s earthquake, said Saidar Rahmanjaya, who heads the local search and rescue agency.
10,000 Indonesians flee after deadly earthquakes
10,000 Indonesians flee after deadly earthquakes
Cargo planes carrying food, tents, blankets and other supplies from Jakarta landed late Friday for distribution to temporary shelters.
Forty-five bodies were taken to the police hospital for identification by relatives after rescuers recovered 36 victims in Mamuju and nine others in neighboring Majene district, West Sulawesi police spokesman Syamsu Ridwan said.
More than 200 individuals are undergoing treatment at Bhayangkara Police Hospital and a number of other others are undergoing treatment in Mamuju itself. Another 630 people were injured in Majene, said the pinnacle of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Doni Monardo.
At least 300 houses in Majene were damaged and roughly 15,000 people were moved to shelters. Many survivors said help had yet to achieve them on account of damaged roads and communication disruptions.
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A magnitude 6.2 quake in Indonesia killed at the least 42 people and injured tons of
A magnitude 6.2 quake in Indonesia killed at the least 42 people and injured tons of
Among those pulled out alive was a young girl who, along along with her sister, was stuck within the rubble of the home.
In a video released by the disaster agency on Friday, the girl might be seen screaming for help. She is being treated in hospital.
She introduced herself as Angel and said that her sister Catherine, who didn’t appear within the footage, was next to her under the rubble and still respiratory.
The fate of Katarzyna and other relations was unclear. Rescue agency spokesman Yusuf Latif had no details about them.
The quake triggered landslides in three places and blocked the essential road connecting Mamuju to Majene. Power and telephone lines were down in lots of areas.
Mamuju, the capital of West Sulawesi province with a population of virtually 75,000, was buried in rubble from collapsed buildings. The quake almost leveled the governor’s office constructing and reduced the mall to a crumpled hulk. A big bridge collapsed and patients on IV drips piled up on folding beds under tarpaulin tents outside one among the destroyed hospitals.
Two hospitals in the town were damaged and others were overwhelmed. Two ships from the nearby cities of Makassar and Balikpapan with rescuers and equipment, including excavators, headed to the devastated areas.
State-owned AirNav Indonesia, which oversees aircraft navigation, said the quake didn’t cause significant damage to the runway or control tower of Mamuju Airport.
The pope prayed for “the remaining of the deceased, the healing of the wounded and the comfort of all those in mourning.” Francis also offered encouragement to those continuing search and rescue efforts and invoked “divine blessings of strength and hope.”
A strong 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia in December 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in greater than a dozen countries.
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: Race to rescue earthquake victims as more shocks strike Race to rescue people from rubble amid powerful aftershock
