MUSCAT/CIANJUR: The Sultanate of Oman has expressed its sympathy with the Republic of Indonesia over the earthquake that hit the city of Cianjur in West Java.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Monday, Oman also expressed sincere condolences to the Indonesian government and people, as well as families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
A shallow 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed at least 162 people, with hundreds injured and others missing, when it toppled buildings and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, officials said.
Doctors treated patients outdoors after the quake, which was felt as far away as the capital Jakarta, left hospitals in the West Java town of Cianjur without power for several hours.
“I regret to inform that 162 are dead. 326 are injured with most of them sustained fractures from being crushed in ruins,” Ridwan Kamil, governor of worst-hit province West Java, told a press conference in a video seen by AFP. He said most of the victims were children.
Adam, spokesman for the local administration in Cianjur town, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, confirmed the toll.
Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency, BNPB, still lists the toll at 62. Due to miscounting, officials offered wildly fluctuating death tolls after an Indonesian stadium disaster last month.
— Agencies
