WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Sunday offered a message of support after a volcano-triggered tsunami left 281 people dead and hundreds more injured in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait.
“Unthinkable devastation from the tsunami disaster in Indonesia,” the Republican leader tweeted. “More than two hundred dead and nearly a thousand injured or unaccounted for. We are praying for recovery and healing. America is with you!”
He joined the chorus of world leaders voicing condolences after the destructive wave struck the area with little warning, destroying hundreds of buildings and uprooting trees.
“I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the Indonesian people who have been hit so hard once again by natural disaster,” Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said on Twitter.
The UN and European Union both pledged to mobilize humanitarian support if requested by Jakarta.
“The United Nations stands ready to support the ongoing government-led rescue and relief efforts,” a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
© Agence France-Presse
