Vietnamese students in Palu gather at Palu airport (Source: VNA)Jakarta (VNA) – The Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia is taking actionto soon bring 10 Vietnamese students out of Palu, which was hit by a strongearthquake and tsunami on September 28, to Jakarta.
The embassy has sent official dispatches toIndonesia’s authorised offices, while Ambassador Pham Vinh Quang has contactedthe Deputy Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs of Indonesia toask for support.
The students were brought to Palu airportand have been provided with food and drink to await for their transfer toJakarta.
However, the Indonesian side said thedamaged airport has yet to resume normal operations. At present, militaryflights transporting injured victims and the elderly and relief supplies arebeing prioritised.
The embassy is keeping contact with thestudents, while asking Indonesian authorities to arrange a flight for them assoon as possible.
Spokesman of the Indonesian National Boardfor Disaster Management (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Spetember 30 thatrescuers were searching for survivors of the earthquake and tsunami who may beburied under collapsed buildings and hotels.
About 50 tourists, including one from theRepublic of Korea (RoK), were said to be trapped inside the debris of the RoaRoa hotel, Nugroho stated.
Search and rescue activities are facing manydifficulties due to power cuts and a lack of excavators, he added.
Relief aid continues to be provided forIndonesia after the deadly earthquake and tsunami.
The RoK Foreign Ministry on September 30committed 1 million USD to help victims and reconstruction work in Indonesia. Theministry also plans to send a working group to assist in search and rescuemissions.
In a letter sent to his Indonesiancounterpart Joko Widodo, RoK President Moon Jae-in extended his condolences toIndonesian people, hoping the search and rescue work would be successful.
On the same day, Chinese Party GeneralSecretary and President Xi Jinping also sent a letter of condolences to Widodo,in which he affirmed China is willing to provide support for Indonesia.
The Australian government also vowed to helpIndonesia recover after the earthquake and tsunami.
Suwelasi island was ravaged by two quakesmeasuring 6.1 and 7.5 on the Richter scale on September 28. A tsunami struckafter the second quake in the afternoon of the same day.
The BNPB announced on September 30 afternoonthe death toll had risen to 832. Around 820 victims have been found in Palu andthe rest, in Donggala.
Meanwhile, 540 others were injured and arereceiving treatment at hospitals. The disaster has also displaced more than16,000 people taking shelter at 24 camps across the region.-VNA
VNA
