... we have deployed hundreds of soldiers to assist affected people in solving their problems."Banda Aceh (ANTARA News) - The Iskandar Muda Regional Military Command in Aceh province is deploying hundreds of soldiers to help quake victims in Central Aceh and Bener Meriah districts.
"Since yesterday we have deployed hundreds of soldiers to assist affected people in solving their problems," spokesman of the regional military command Col. Subagio Irianto said on Wednesday.
The soldiers from the battalion 114, the Liliwangsa military command 011 and the Central Aceh district military command had performed rescue tasks in the two quake-hit districts since they arrived there on Tuesday, he said.
An earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale rocked the districts on Tuesday at 02.37 p.m. local time, leaving thousands of houses damaged heavily and lightly.
The quake also forced the hospitalization of hundreds of people and left more than 20 others dead.
Subagio said the regional military command also had dispatched a team of medical personnel and sent kitchen utensils, communication instrument and transport vehicles to the quake-hit areas.
He said Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers, along with police officers and local residents had also evacuated survivors and cured those sustaining injuries in the quake.
They also got involved in the effort to remove debris of collapsed buildings using heavy-duty equipment owned by private companies and the district governments, he said.
"We will also send heavy-duty equipment and medical team from the provincial capital Banda Aceh to the affected areas if needed," he said.
(Reporting by Azhari/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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