Earthquake in China: majority of the Finnish citizens reached

Press release 156/2008
12 May, 2008

The death toll of the earthquake on 12 May in Sichuan province in China is growing. The Embassy of Finland in Beijing has reached the majority of those Finnish citizens in the earthquake area who had given their contact information to the embassy in advance (registering with the embassy is voluntary but desirable) or who had reported about themselves to the embassy in other ways. The embassy has reached slightly over 80 Finns.

According to the information given by the Beijing Embassy, all Finns had been in good condition. They had been in the city of Chengdu in the Chongqing municipality, and in the provinces of Yunnan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Qinghai and Hunan.

Efforts are still being made to reach the two Finnish citizens in Wuhan in Hubei province. Wuhan is located quite far away from the earthquake epicentre and no damage has been reported from the area. The Finnish Embassy in Beijing will, however, continue its efforts to find out what is the situation of all Finns that they have knowledge of.

According to experts, aftershocks are quite likely in the area, and on 13 May there were some aftershocks in Sichuan.

Additional information: Minister Kimmo Lähdevirta, tel. +86 1390 103 2671, or First Secretary Teemu Turunen, tel. +86 1390 103 2673, both at the Embassy of Finland in Beijing, and Director Juha Markkanen, Information Unit, tel. +358 40 520 3925