China will airlift emergency aid to the earthquake and
tsunami-struck countries in South and Southeast Asia, Premier Wen
Jiabao said on Monday.
Premier Wen extended sincere condolences on behalf of the
Chinese government to the affected countries in calls to the
Indonesian and Maldivian presidents and the prime ministers of
India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar.
"The Chinese government and people are sympathetic with friendly
neighboring countries and people," Wen said.
The ministries of foreign affairs, commerce and finance are
making preparations to provide relief supplies and other
humanitarian aid worth 21.6 million yuan (US$2.6 million) to the
stricken countries.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.7 according to the China
Earthquake Administration, hit at 6:58 AM (0058 UTC) Sunday off the
west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The tsunami it
created swept across the Indian Ocean, sending walls of water up to
10 meters high crashing into the coastlines of several
countries.
The waves traveled as far as Kenya and Somalia -- some 7,000
kilometers -- and affected the islands of Mauritius, Reunion and
the Seychelles. More than 100 Somali fishermen have been reported
missing.
On Monday, the US Geological Survey upgraded the magnitude of
Sunday's quake from 8.9 to 9.0 and said it was the fourth largest
in the world since 1900.
The death toll was reported on Monday to be at least 24,000, and
is still rising.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn December 28, 2004)