Taiwan's government is willing to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of a deadly earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi early Friday (Jan. 15), the Presidential Office said that day.
Presidential Office Spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to express her government's sympathies and concerns to the quake victims and their families.
"President Tsai has also instructed the ministry to convey Taiwan's intention to help the Indonesian government in its disaster relief efforts," Chang said.
The magnitude 6.2 earthquake jolted Sulawesi at 1.28 a.m. local time, with its epicenter six kilometers northeast of Majene City at a depth of 10 km, according to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency.
Foreign media reports said the quake had so far claimed at least seven lives and left more than 600 people injured as of press time.
Meanwhile, MOFA said in a separate statement that Larry Tseng (曾瑞利), head of the ministry's Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, had called Indonesia's top envoy in Taiwan, Budi Santoso, to express Taiwan's sympathies to those affected by the quake.
MOFA said no Taiwanese nationals were reported to have been hurt by the quake, citing information from Taiwan's representative office in the Southeast Asian country.
MOFA said Taiwan's offices in the capital, Jakarta, and the city of Surabaya will continue to monitor the aftermath of the quake and provide any necessary assistance to overseas Taiwanese in Sulawesi.
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