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Türkiye on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and destruction caused by earthquakes in Indonesia, as the death toll from a powerful magnitude 7.7 quake near Flores Island rose to 51 and rescue teams continued searching through debris for survivors.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry said in a written statement that it was deeply saddened by the deaths and material damage caused by earthquakes in Indonesia's Flores and North Sumatra regions.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and material damage caused by the earthquakes that occurred in Indonesia's North Sumatra and Flores regions," the ministry said.
The ministry offered condolences to the families of those killed and to the Indonesian people and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
The powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores Island early Saturday, collapsing buildings and forcing thousands of residents to flee.
The quake struck the Flores region at 5:58 a.m. local time, or 9:58 p.m. GMT, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The USGS recorded the shallow earthquake at a depth of 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency placed the epicenter at 8.41 degrees south latitude and 121.39 degrees east longitude.
The German Research Centre for Geosciences had earlier estimated the earthquake's magnitude at 7.67.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred about 68 kilometers northwest of the Flores region.
Search and rescue teams continued operations across the affected area as authorities raised the death toll to 51.
At least 101 people were injured in the earthquake.
More than 900 homes were destroyed, while another 450 were damaged.
Around 5,000 people were moved to temporary shelters as residents fled damaged or unsafe buildings.
Landslides triggered by the earthquake also blocked sections of an approximately 700-kilometer road connecting settlements across the Flores region, disrupting transportation between affected communities.
At least 235 aftershocks were recorded following the main earthquake, with the strongest measuring magnitude 6.2.
A second earthquake, measuring magnitude 6.9, struck near the city of Pematangsiantar in Indonesia's North Sumatra province.
No deaths or serious damage were reported from the North Sumatra earthquake.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry referred to both the Flores and North Sumatra earthquakes in its statement of condolences.
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