Indonesia: Quakes hit west Sulawesi; 7 dies, thousand fled their homes

Seven people were killed and more than 8,000 others fled their homes as landslides and quakes struck Indonesia's West Sulawesi province, officials said on Saturday.

The victims died during the evacuation, Pasamboan Pangloli, head of rehabilitation and reconstruction unit of the disaster management agency in the district, told Xinhua news agency.

The landslides also buried at least 8 houses in the district, the official said.

More than 8,000 people fled their homes and were taking shelters as several moderate quakes with magnitudes from 5.1 to 5.5 struck the district in the past few days, said Pangloli.

West Sulawesi province borders Central Sulawesi province which was devastated by a series of powerful quakes and an ensuing tsunami by the end of September that leftover 2,000 people dead.

(With inputs from agencies.)