Around 40 Chinese tourists trapped in Indonesia's Lombok and nearby islands from a powerful earthquake are expected to be evacuated on Monday, as the death toll of Sunday's 7.0-magnitude quake rose to 91, with hundreds of others injured.
There were no Chinese casualties from the quake, according to a statement released by the Department of Consular Affairs of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
Parts of the trapped tourists have boarded a boat from Lombok island and all Chinese tourists are expected to be evacuated on Monday, it said.
Lombok island is a less-chosen destination for Chinese tourists compared to the popular Bali island in Indonesia, as accommodations are less developed, Chinese travel agencies told the Global Times on Monday.
Popular travel attractions on the island include snorkeling, surfing and traveling to volcanoes, the agencies said.
Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the death toll was expected to rise as information arrives from areas where thousands of buildings collapsed or were badly damaged, especially in the north, the quake's epicenter, Reuters reported.
Power and communications were cut in some areas of Lombok, and the Indonesian military said it was sending a ship with medical aid, supplies and logistical support for the island, Reuters said.
Lombok was hit a week earlier, on July 29, by a 6.4-magnitude quake that killed 17 people, injured hundreds and briefly stranded several hundred trekkers on the slopes of a volcano.
