China allocates $500,000 in aid to quake-hit Indonesia
12:10, 2 October 2009
BEIJING. October 2. KAZINFORM China has allocated $500,000 in aid to Indonesia hit by two earthquakes that killed at least 1,100 people and injured many more, Chinese media cited on Friday the Foreign Ministry as saying; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
The U.K. earlier said it was sending a team of rescuers and search equipment to Indonesia, and Russia's emergencies ministry said it would send rescue workers, doctors and a mobile hospital to the country.
The island of Sumatra was hit by a 7.6-magnitude quake on Wednesday and by a second earthquake on Thursday with magnitude 6.9. Hundreds of buildings have collapsed, burying people under the rubble.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters at the United Nations headquarters Thursday that there were fears the toll will rise, and Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said the number of fatalities could reach several thousand; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.
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