Romanian Foreign Ministry voices compassion and solidarity with Indonesia in aftermath of Sulawesi earthquake

The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) sends sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the earthquake in the Sulawesi Island, the Republic of Indonesia, which resulted in hundreds of dead, injured or missing persons.

"At this time of deep sorrow, the Foreign Affairs Ministry voices its entire compassion and solidarity with the Indonesian people and authorities, and voices at the same time the profound regret for the high number of victims, as well as for the serious material damage caused by this natural catastrophe," a MAE release sent to AGERPRES on Saturday reads.

Strong earthquakes - followed by tsunamis - occurring on Friday on the Sulawesi Island resulted in 384 deaths and over 500 injured persons, the Agency for the management of natural disasters in this country announced on Saturday in a new official report, according to AFP, DPA and Reuters.

Most victims were registered in Palu, a city with about 350,000 inhabitants on the western coast of Sulawesi, the aforementioned agency's spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho pointed out. He made another public call on Saturday and said that the intervention teams need staff, volunteers and special equipment, according to AFP.

At least 29 persons have been reported missing and other 540 suffered serious injuries following the 7.4 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that hit the city of Palu, the capital of the Central Sulawesi province, the same Indonesian official is quoted by DPA as having pointed out. AGERPRES (RO - editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - editor: Adina Panaitescu)