Humanitarian Aid Team Leaves for Nepal

Jakarta, April 29 (ANTARA Lampung) - The first batch of humanitarian aid and evacuation team from Indonesia has left for Nepal that was rocked by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Saturday.

"We thank God that Indonesia has managed to send the first batch of relief assistance for the government and people of Nepal. Have a nice duty, this is a noble mission," Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi said while seeing off the team at Halim Perdanakusuma airport here on Wednesday.

The humanitarian assistance is a form of solidarity among Asian and African countries, she stated.

"Recently, in the Asia-Africa Conference, the President (Joko Widodo) said that Asian and African countries should stand in solidarity with each other. Our support is to show solidarity," the minister noted.

Marsudi further remarked that the humanitarian aid team has two main missions in Nepal, to channel humanitarian aid and to evacuate Indonesian citizens in the country.

"This team will help find and evacuate Indonesian citizens who could not be contacted until now (17 of a total of 95 Indonesians). And of course, this team will also assist in the evacuation of other victims," he pointed out.

In addition, the team will also conduct an assessment to find out the necessities of the government and people of Nepal so that more humanitarian aid can be dispatched through the second batch of aid workers, the minister revealed.

The Indonesian Government has offered US$1 million in aid for Nepal, the minister added.

The residence of Indonesia's honorary consul in Nepal was also destroyed by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated the country on Saturday, April 25.

Moreover, the whereabouts of 13 Indonesian nationals in Nepal are still not known, she pointed out.

When the powerful earthquake hit Nepal, 54 Indonesians were in the South Asian country. Of the 54 Indonesians, 18 live in Nepal, while 36 were visitors.

"Of the 18 Indonesian nationals, 12 have been contacted and are safe, while six could not be reached," she revealed.

The death toll from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal climbed to 4,300 on Tuesday, according to disaster management officials.

More than 8,500 people have been injured, the emergency operation center was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Officials have not been able to estimate how many bodies are buried under the debris, which means the death toll could cross the figure 4,349 that was announced by the country's National Emergency Operation Center on Tuesday morning.