Deadly Earthquake Kills Over 42 In Indonesia

At least 42 people have been pronounced dead and 600 others injured following a deadly earthquake that struck Indonesia's Sulawesi island early on Friday morning.

Rescuers in Mamuju have also retrieved 34 bodies from the rubble of collapsed buildings, the Indonesian disaster agency disclosed, adding that eight others died and 637 others were injured in the neighboring district of Majene.

The agency further revealed that eight people had died in the south of the city with many buildings damaged.

Two hospitals and the building that houses the provincial government offices collapsed, said Muhammad Idris, secretary to the governor on national television.

Several videos from the area, including some from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, showed people desperate for help, either for themselves or others trapped.

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Rescuers struggled to extract seven people who were trapped under the rubble of a collapsed hospital. After several hours, an extractor came and rescuers were able to retrieve four survivors and three dead bodies.

The epicenter of the 6.2 magnitude quake was 6 kilometers (3.73 miles) northeast of Majene city and measured at a depth of 18 kilometers.

Thousands of people left their homes when the quake hit. They were evacuated to temporary shelters.

The country's search-and-rescue agency had earlier said at least one hotel had collapsed. It later clarified that the hotel had partially caved in.

Videos also showed residents fleeing to higher ground on motorcycles.

Indonesia's disaster agency said a series of quakes in the past 24 hours had caused at least three landslides, and the electricity supply had been cut.

Hours earlier on Thursday, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck in the same district, damaging several houses but causing no apparent casualties.

Strong aftershocks could follow, the chief of Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics agency (BMKG) warned.