PUTRAJAYA, Jan 4 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan verified none of the Malaysians residing in Japan were 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 in Kuala Lumpur 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 told reporters Thursday.
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 media reports, the death toll from the earthquake rose to 78 as of Thursday morning.
— NNN-BERNAMA