Five Capetonian families are nervously awaiting news from their family members who were traveling to Indonesia at the time that an earthquake hit Lombok.
On Tuesday, frightened travelers and locals alike fled for boats and planes to leave Indonesia’s Lombok island after the second deadly quake in one week. Rescuers struggled to reach areas effected the most where survivors were in dire need of food and shelter.
The Indonesian government expressed their condolences to the people of Indonesia after many lives were lost and injuries suffered following the natural disaster.
The quake measured 6.9-magnitude on the Richter scale which is rated as a strong quake that can cause a large amount of damage. Nearly 100 people were killed, 236 injured and 20 000 others left homeless.
A mother of one of the Capetonians who is currently “missing”, told IOL, “I last heard from my son from Ubud. They were intending to travel to Lombok on the Monday despite there having been an earthquake on Sunday.
“Unfortunately another earthquake struck Lombok the following day. Neither I or the other families involved have heard from our sons and daughters as they aren’t answering their cellphones.”
Ndivhuwo Mabaya, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) said “at this stage” it was aware of five South Africans that were in the affected area during the earthquake. “All five have been accounted for and are safe,” Mabaya said.
Frightening images and videos have been shared on social media this week following the devastating event:
Searching, Finding and Looking for a survivor. #lombokearthquake pic.twitter.com/PRhtlSNxpz
— #wonderfullombok (@wdrlombok) August 7, 2018
Picture: Instagram/@trufflejournal
