PUTRAJAYA, Jan 4 – Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan verified none of the Malaysians residing in Japan were not affected by the earthquake in the Niigata prefecture and the aircraft mishap at the Haneda airport which occurred this week.
Mohamad said he is in close contact with the Japanese Embassy here and his counterpart in Japan to obtain the latest updates on the two incidents.
“There were no Malaysians onboard the plane that caught fire at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo, and (although) they are Malaysians, including students, residing in the areas affected by the earthquake, they are not affected and are all safe,” he added.
He told reporters this after the handing over of Malaysian Traditional Costumes Under The Cultural Diplomacy Initiative To Strengthen National Arts, Culture, And Heritage Activities which was also attended by Arts and Culture Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing here today.
Mohamad said Malaysia is prepared to offer its assistance if needed by Japan.
At about 6 pm local time on Tuesday, Japan Airlines flight JAL 516 from Hokkaido collided with a Coast Guard aircraft, MA-722, while landing at the Haneda Airport, causing both aircraft to catch fire.
Five of the six crew onboard the Coast Guard aircraft were killed, while the captain sustained serious injuries.
The coast guard airplane was transporting relief goods to the earthquake-hit areas in Niigata Prefecture after a series of tremors of up to 7.6 on the Richter scale struck central Japan on Monday evening.
The earthquake triggered a tsunami wave of more than a metre, causing the collapse of buildings, major fires in ports, and damaging roads.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the death toll from the earthquake rose to 78 as of Thursday morning.
