Jakarta, Jan. 17, (dpa/GNA) – The death toll from a 6.2-magnitude earthquake that shook Indonesia’s West Sulawesi province on Friday rose to 73 as more bodies were retrieved from the rubble of toppled houses, the national disaster mitigation agency said on Sunday.
Spokesman Raditya Jati said most of the deaths were in the badly-hit provincial capital Mamuju, where 64 fatalities were recorded, while the other nine victims were in the neighbouring district of Majene.
At least 743 people were injured by Friday’s quake, which struck the province at 1:28 am. The quake also displaced about 27,850 people.
Meanwhile, debris-clearance operations were making progress and power was being restored in places.
“Power supply in some parts of Majene and Mamuju regencies has been restored and vehicles can now pass the main road connecting the two regencies after local military personnel cleared the road with heavy equipment,” Jati said.
The province was rattled by a 5.0-magnitude aftershock on Saturday morning, with the Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency saying tremors will continue to rattle the region.
GNA