Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences as a deadly earthquake rattled Indonesia, killing as many as 252 people and injuring several others. While expressing grief, PM Modi said that India stands in solidarity with Indonesia as the nation witnessed loss of lives and damage to property.
“Saddened by the loss of lives and damage to property from the earthquake in Indonesia. Deepest condolences to the victims and their families. Wish a speedy recovery to the injured. India stands with Indonesia in this hour of grief,” PM Modi tweeted.
The death toll rose to 252 after a quake rattled Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday. It also said 31 people are still missing and 377 were injured, while the number of people displaced has reached 7,060.
In what can be seen as one of the most powerful earthquakes in the history of the country, electricity was down, disrupting communications while landslides were blocking evacuations in some areas.
Indonesia president Joko Widodo visited the epicenter – the town of Cianjur in west Java – and ordered teams to prioritise saving people trapped under rubble and to urgently access areas blocked by landslides.
Rescuers searched for bodies and survivors on Tuesday in the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the earthquake.
