VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) is ready to send its volunteers to help victims of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami that affected part of Turkey on Friday (Oct 30).

"Turkey has assisted Indonesia a lot to handle various disasters, ranging from an earthquake and tsunami in Aceh to an earthquake, tsunami, and liquefaction in Central Sulawesi. Of course, when Turkey is grieving, PMI is ready to help," PMI Secretary-General Sudirman Said told Antara by phone on Saturday.

Sudirman said PMI and the Turkish Red Crescent which are members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) will assist each other in handling disasters.

Moreover, the Turkish Red Crescent has frequently extended a large amount of assistance particularly during the earthquake, tsunami, and liquefaction recovery period in Central Sulawesi. The largest humanitarian organization in Turkey also contributed to the recovery of victims.

Sudirman said PMI has prepared a number of trained volunteers to help the victims of the quake and tsunami if requested by the Turkish government. The assistance is the manifestation of the longstanding friendship between the two nations.

Earlier, PMI Chief Jusuf Kalla expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the quake that rocked part of Turkey on Friday.

A powerful quake rocked Turkey on Friday. It destroyed scores of buildings and triggered a tsunami that swept through the country's coastal towns. The quake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale was centered 11 miles north of the island of Greek island Samos.

Meanwhile, citing data from the Turkish Disaster Management Agency Authority (AFAD), the Anadolu Agency reported that the quake has claimed 25 lives and left at least 804 persons injured as of early Saturday.

At least 743 persons have been injured in Izmir and neighboring provinces, five in Manisa, two in Balikesir, and 54 in Aydin, according to the Turkish news agency. (Antaranews)