JAKARTA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has provided free flights, hotel accommodation as well as medical expenses for Malaysian tourists killed or injured by an earthquake that hit Lombok island in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province, a provincial official said on Monday.
Head of NTB Tourism Office Lalu Muhammad Faozal said that all of those services are jointly provided by the provincial government and the Indonesian Tourism Ministry.
"We provide free hotel in the province capital of Mataram for them. The Tourism Ministry will provide free flights from Lombok to Jakarta and to Kuala Lumpur for the bodies and the group," Lalu said.
Two Malaysian nationals and an Indonesian tourist were killed in the 5.4-magnitude earthquake that jolted the island on Sunday afternoon.
They were hit by fallen stones as they spent their weekend in the popular waterfall of Tiu Kelep in north Lombok.
The killed Malaysians visited the waterfall with their families in a group that consisted of 27 tourists, Lalu said.
The earthquake has affected 2,108 residents in east and north Lombok regencies, injured 182 and damaged 526 houses, according to the Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
