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:

 

The earthquake that occurred last Sunday night also collapsed the houses of two of our staff. They are Isah, the kitchen staff and Antok, the gardener. Last Tuesday we visited their collapsed house, flat on the ground and provided some donation as a form of support. Not only to both our staff and their families, the Aryaguna 86 Villa management also provided some donations, such as food and drinks to the people in Batu Layar village, West Lombok. . Let’s move to help our brothers and sisters who are affected by the disaster in Lombok. Because, sharing is caring. . . #lombokearthquake #indonesiaearthquake #lombok #lombokisland #prayforlombok #batulayar #donation #sharing #caring #aryagunavilla86 #aryaguna86 #aryaguna

A post shared by Aryaguna 86 Villa (@aryaguna86villa) on

Picture: Instagram/@trufflejournal

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