6.2 magnitude earthquake hits Indonesia days after Sulawesi tsunami killed 844

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck near the southern Indonesian island of Flores, four days after a devastating quake and tsunami on Sulawesi island killed at least 844 people.

The quake, which hit about 250 km (155 miles) southwest of Ende on Flores, was later downgraded by the US Geological Survey to a magnitude of 5.9.

There were no immediate tsunami alerts or reports of casualties or damage.

The extent of the devastation caused by an earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi should become clearer today, as rescuers push into remote areas that have been out of contact for more than three days.

Officials fear the death toll will rise into the thousands.

Indonesia has said it would accept offers of international aid, having shunned outside help earlier this year when an earthquake struck the island of Lombok.

The number of confirmed deaths stood at 844 on Tuesday, most of them in Palu, the main city in the disaster zone, where rescuers were hunting for victims in the ruins.

"We suspect there are still some survivors trapped inside," the head of on rescue team, Agus Haryono, told Reuters at the collapsed seven-storey Hotel Roa Roa.

About 50 people were believed to have been trapped when the hotel was brought down by the 7.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday.

The quake triggered tsunami waves as high as six metres (20 feet) that smashed into the city’s beachfront, about 2 km from the hotel.

About 12 people have been recovered from the ruins of the hotel, three of them alive.


Haryono pored over the hotel’s blueprints and building plans, searching for possible pockets and a way through to them. A faint smell of decomposition hung in the air.

"We have to be very careful so we don’t risk hurting any survivors when we move the debris," he said.



Power has yet to be restored in the area and access by land to outlying villages has been disrupted by broken roads, landslides and downed bridges.

Aftershocks have rattled jangled nerves.

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