Tomorrow, we will only monitor the affected areas where the search (for the quake victims) has not been maximumJakarta (ANTARA) - The death toll from the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that rattled Majene and Mamuju districts in West Sulawesi province last week rose to 90 as of Tuesday, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).
"We will continue our search (for more bodies). Tomorrow, we will only monitor the affected areas where the search (for the quake victims) has not been maximum," Basarnas preparedness director Didi Hamzah said at a press conference monitored in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He said three people remain missing and are believed to have been buried under sliding debris and materials.
As of Tuesday (January 19, 2021), Basarnas’ search for quake victims covered 20 points, spreading over the four villages of Binanga, Rimuku, Karema, and Simboro, he informed.
Basarnas dispatched seven teams of rescue workers for the search operation. Two of the rescue teams moved to Majene district, which also bore the brunt of the powerful quake.
"The teams in Majene have been tasked with searching for the three missing people believed to be buried by a landslide in Malunda area," Hamzah said.
A powerful earthquake rocked the districts of Majene and Mamuju early on Friday last week. The epicenter of the quake was located on land, six kilometers northeast of Majene, at a depth of 10 kilometers.
The shallow quake, which the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) believes was caused by a local fault, destroyed several buildings, including the governor's office, a military office, and the Maleo Hotel.
The earthquake, which damaged several homes and a public health center, also triggered three landslides along the Majene-Mamuju road section, disrupting the transportation of people and goods, chief of the BNPB Center for Disaster Data, Information and Communication, Dr. Raditya Jati, said at an online press conference in Jakarta on Sunday.
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Translator: Muhammad Z/Suharto
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
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