JAKARTA: Two earthquakes measuring 5.1 and 5.5 on the Richter scale struck the Mamasa district of the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi today and yesterday, triggering massive landslides, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Approximately seven people were killed and more than 8,000 others have fled damaged homes and taken shelter at various evacuation centres, head of the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Unit of the Disaster Management Agency in the district, Pasamboan Pangloli, said, told NST.

He added that the two quakes triggered landslides which have buried at least eight houses in the district, Bernama reported.

West Sulawesi province borders Central Sulawesi province, which was devastated by a series of powerful quakes and an ensuing tsunami in September which left over 2,000 people dead and over 7,000 missing.