India to send relief material to Indonesia

India will send four naval ships and at least one Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft to tsunami-hit Indonesia carrying relief materials.

The Indian assistance comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday to offer condolences on his behalf and on behalf of the people of India on the loss of lives in the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit Sulawesi region of the South East Asian country.

Modi offered Widodo all possible assistance from IndTHE ia as a maritime neighbour and friend of Indonesia. Widodo thanked he prime minister for the condolence and the offer of assistance.

The IAF C-17 will take-off from Hindon airbase near Delhi once the relief material is loaded into the aircraft. The four naval ships that are parked in Singapore are set to be diverted to Indonesia, sources told DH.

Five naval ships – INS Sudarshini, INS Sujata, INS Sarathi, INS Shardul and INS Tir are in Singapore for the exercise. At least four of these ships barring Sudarshini would be dispatched to Indonesia. It may take 12-15 hours for the ships to reach the intended site.

The death toll from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami rose to 844 till Monday afternoon, but thousands more are feared dead as rescue workers continue to struggle to reach out to people in worst hit areas of Donggala and Balaroa region.

At least 600 people injured in the disaster are in hospital whereas 48,000 have been forced to move out of their homes. Electricity is still down in the worst-hit areas hampering the rescue work as there is a shortage of fuel.