According to Ministry of Emergencies spokesperson Viktor Beltsov, Russia is ready to offer humanitarian aid to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, two countries of South East Asia that suffered the consequences of a recent natural disaster. He said that Indonesia has already asked Russia for assistance.
"Today, expert of a UN coordination group on response to emergency situations, Russian emergency ministry's international department official Vladimir Boreiko will fly from Moscow to Jakarta," Mr. Beltsov announced.
He added that Mr. Boreiko is entrusted with a task to assess the damage caused by an earthquake and a tsunami in the regions of South East Asia and determine the amount of necessary humanitarian aid.
The total number of victims of the powerful earthquake and consequent tsunami that occurred on Sunday near the western coast of Indonesian Island of Sumatra exceeded 3,000 people in five South Asian countries.
Indonesia was fortunate because the giant tsunami waves have not reached their peak by the time they approached the Indonesian coast. According to latest data, 250 people were killed in the country, most of them - victims of the tsunami.
According to data provided by the Indonesian National Department of Meteorology and Geophysics, the strength of the earthquake reached 6.8 degrees on Richter scale. Sources from other countries claim that the magnitude of the earthquake could have been as high as 8.9 degrees.
Underground tremors were felt in the neighboring Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
According to the latest data provided by the Thai Department of Natural Disasters, 120 people died and more than a thousand injured as a result of the disaster in the Kingdom of Thailand.
In addition, more than a hundred tourists who practiced snorkeling near southern islands of the Kingdom of Thailand are considered missing.
Giant waves killed 15 people on the Malaysian Island of Penang and in the Kedah state. At least 60 people were hospitalized with various injuries.
Spreading over the surface of the Indian Ocean, the tsunami caused serious harm to Maldives atolls, which extend to a maximum of two meters over the surface of the ocean. Two-thirds of the capital of the Republic of Maldives, Male, were flooded.
Sri Lanka suffered the most serious damage of all affected countries. According to latest data, the total number of dead has already exceeded 1,000 people. President of Sri Lanka Chandrika B. Kumaratunga pronounced the country a national disaster zone and appealed to global community for urgent humanitarian assistance.
After destroying the coast of Sri Lanka, the tsunami hit the coast of India near southern city of Madras killing at least 1,000 people.
Gaining strength on the way from Indonesian coast, the tsunami also damaged the low-profile coast of Bangladesh. However, the data from that country has not been available so far.
According to unconfirmed data, the tsunami also capsized several ships in the Indian Ocean.
