PHL aid for the victims of quake-tsunami now in Indonesia

(Eagle The humanitarian aid assistance of the Philippine government to the victims of 7.5 magnitude earthquake that devastated the country is now in Indonesia.

The Lockheed C-130 “Hercules” cargo ship that departed on Wednesday, October 10 had arrived at Balikpapan Kalimantan Airport on the same day.

The relief goods and other supplies that arrived were only the first batch of assistance from the Philippines. The second delivery is scheduled to arrive on Sunday, October 14.

Aside from these, financial assistance was also extended by several private companies in the Philippines which was given to the Embassy of Indonesia in the Philippines.

“As of today, I learned that our C-130 plane has flown out of the Philippines to bring all assistance to Palu,” Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Leehiong Tan Wee confirmed in an interview with the media on Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile the search operation for the victims who were killed in the quake-tsunami disaster was called off on Thursday, October 11.

During the operations, more than 2,000 bodies were recovered and authorities feared that more than 5,000 more could have been buried beneath the rubble due to the twin disaster.

According to the United Nations, 200,000 people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Palu, with clean drinking water and medical supplies still in short supply.

An estimated 80,000 people were displaced by the disaster, many squatting in tents outside their destroyed homes. (with a report from AFP)