The death toll rises to 34 from a powerful earthquake in Indonesia

Mamuju, Indonesia – A powerful shallow earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Sulawesi shortly after midnight on Friday, overturning houses and buildings, causing landslides and killing at least 34 people.

More than 600 people were injured in the 6.2 magnitude earthquake, which forced people to flee their homes in the middle of the night. Authorities are continuing to collect information on the extent of personal and property damage in the affected areas.

Hours after the earthquake, it was reported that many people were trapped in the remains of collapsed buildings.

In a video released by the National Agency for Disaster Mitigation, a girl trapped in the rubble of a house asked for help and said she was listening to other family members who were unable to leave either. “Please help me, it hurts,” he told rescuers.

Rescue workers said they needed a bulldozer to rescue the girl and those trapped under other buildings. Other images showed a cut down bridge and damaged or destroyed houses. Television stations reported that the earthquake had damaged part of a hospital and patients were transferred to emergency tents set up outside.

Another recording showed a man calling for help to save his children who were buried under the remains of his home. “They’re trapped, please help me,” he shouted.

Thousands of people were evacuated to temporary shelters.

The earthquake’s epicenter was 22 miles south of the Mamuju District, in West Sulawesi Province, and at a depth of 11 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Indonesian authorities raised the death toll to 34 after rescue workers in Mamuju recovered 26 bodies trapped under collapsed buildings. Eight people were killed and another 637 injured in the Majene district near Mamuju, the disaster relief agency said in a statement.

At least 300 homes and a health center were damaged and about 15,000 people were in temporary shelters in the district, he added. In many areas there was no electricity or telephone service.

Muhamad Idris, secretary of the administration for West Sulawesi, told TVOne that the governor’s building was one of the collapsed buildings in Mamuju, the provincial capital, and many people were still trapped there.

The earthquake also caused landslides in three areas, blocking the main road between Mamuju and the Majene district, the agency’s spokesman Raditya Jati said.

On Thursday, a magnitude 5.9 underwater earthquake struck the same region, damaging several homes, apparently with no casualties.

A sprawling archipelago of 260 million people, Indonesia regularly experiences earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire.