Indonesia earthquake: Queen makes private donation as number of dead rises
Buckingham Palace says she gave money to the appeal for survivors after expressing her "sincere condolences" to families affected.
Saturday 6 October 2018 16:52, UK
The Queen has made a private donation to the relief effort in Indonesia following the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the country last week.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen had given money to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for survivors, which raised £6m in a day when it was launched on Thursday.
It did not say how much money the monarch had given.
The number of dead has reached 1,649 and at least 265 people remain missing after the 7.5 magnitude tremor and resulting tsunami on the island of Sulawesi.
According to aid agencies, about 200,000 people are thought to be in need of food and shelter.
On Wednesday, the Queen issued a statement on the disaster.
"I was extremely sorry to hear about the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi at the end of last week, particularly given these events happened so soon after the recent earthquake in Lombok," she said.
"Prince Philip and I send our sincere condolences to all those affected by the disaster and their families."
The RAF has already delivered 17.5 tonnes of UK aid supplies to Indonesia to help people affected. One of its Atlas planes touched down at the international relief centre at Balikpapan on Friday.
Cargo included 1,280 shelter kits and 288 hygiene kits that make up a £3m aid package pledged by the Department for International Development.
Also delivered were much-needed handling equipment that includes a forklift truck and conveyor belt that will massively increase the speed at which humanitarian aid can be transferred from flights and distributed to affected communities.
Other equipment includes transport trucks and a lighting tower generator which will speed up the delivery of aid to people who need it most urgently.
DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said donations will ensure aid workers from 14 leading UK aid charities can reach those left homeless and in urgent need of food, water and shelter.
"As the full impact of the disaster unfolds, DEC member charities and their partners are ready to help devastated communities to rebuild their lives," he said. "We would urge people to continue donating."