At least 30 people have been killed and hundreds injured on the island of Sulawesi.
An earthquake on Friday morning, local time, hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
It has especially affected the cities of Majene and Mamuju – in the latter, a hospital has collapsed.
- Det er helt kollapset. Der er patienter og hospitalsansatte, der er fanget under murbrokkerne, og vi prøver nu at nå frem til dem, siger en redningsarbejder fra beredskabet i Mamuju, der er Sulawesis største by, til nyhedsbureauet AFP.
There is disagreement about the exact death toll, but both Al-Jazeera, the BBC , and the news agency Reuters write that at least 30 people have died and at least 600 people have been injured.
A rescue worker named Saidar Rahmanjaya tells AFP that they are working to help 20 people from eight different buildings in Mamuju. But the lack of equipment makes it very difficult.
- We are in a race with time to save them, he says.
In addition to the hospital, at least 300 homes, a shopping mall, a military building and public buildings have also been hit hard. Large parts of the island are without electricity.
Fear of a tsunami
According to Reuters, the meteorological authorities fear that the aftershocks are large enough to cause a tsunami . Although no warning has been issued for an impending tsunami , thousands have still chosen to leave their homes to get to safety, writes the BBC .
Several are also directly encouraged to do so by the authorities .
- There is potential for a tsunami in the aftershocks . Do not wait for it, because it can happen very quickly, says Professor Dwikorita Karnawati, who works for the country’s Meteorological and Geological Institute at a press conference, according to Al-Jazeera.
The quake, which measured 6.2 on the Richter scale , hit the island of Sulawesi after a series of minor earthquakes.
