President to visit Padang on Wednesday afternoon

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will cut short his state visit to Vietnam to travel to Padang, West Sumatra, near the scene of a tsunami that more than a hundred people living on the Mentawai Islands on Monday night.

“We have just received information from the state secretary that the President is on his way to Indonesia and is flying directly to Padang,” presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told Kompas.com.

Vice President Boediono, who left for Mentawai on Wednesday morning, is scheduled to debrief the President on the damage this afternoon.

The President will be accompanied by First Lady Ani Kristanti and State Secretary Sudi Silalahi.

Early estimates put the death toll from the the tsunami, which was triggered by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, at 112 people.