REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- A spokesman of the Indonesian foreign ministry said there was not a single Indonesian national among the victims of the 6.4 earthquake that struck Tainan, Taiwan, so far.
A team of the Indonesian Trade and Economic Office (KDEI) had searched three hospitals for any Indonesian who might have become a victim in the disaster, but so far they found none, spokesman of the ministry Arrmanatha Nasir said here, Sunday.
The team had combed Chimei Tainan Hospital, Cheng Kung National University Hospital, and Sinlau Christian Hospital.
They continue the search and coordinated with the local authorities, he added.
The KDEI has opened a command post located at Hua Street No 42-2, North District, Tainan City, and its telephone number is: +886973947516.
The Indonesian government has extended condolences to families of the earthquake victims.
Some 230 thousand Indonesian nationals are estimated to have lived in Taiwan, including 17 thousand migrant workers and many students.
Xinhua news agency reported that the death toll of the powerful earthquake reached 18 by Sunday morning.
A total of 356 people have been rescued in Tainan. At least 132 people are still waiting for rescue, a local rescue command center said.
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Kaohsiung on Saturday at a depth of 15 kilometers, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.
Local monitoring authorities put the scale of the quake at 6.4 magnitude.
Previous reports said more than 460 people were injured in the quake, according to Xinhua.
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