Embassy evacuates 33 Indonesians from Miyagi, Japan

The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo has evacuated 33 Indonesian citizens from Miyagi prefecture, one of the areas most severely affected by the quake-triggered tsunami last week.

They arrived in Tokyo on Thursday morning, local time, according to a statement from the embassy.

The 33 citizens are workers at the Japanese company, Kawamura Food Processing. They were seeking refuge at Torio High School in Miyagi when a disaster-relief team from the embassy found them on Wednesday, Antara reported.

The embassy also confirmed that 17 Indonesian crewmembers of the ship Yahata Maru No. 35 were safe. Their families lost contact with them after the tsunami.

It received reports on the conditions of the Indonesian crewmembers from the Japan Tuna Fisheries Corporation. They are currently still in Miyagi.

The embassy evacuated 15 Indonesians citizens and the Japanese husband of one of them earlier on Wednesday from Fukushima, where a nuclear reactor was leaking radiation after the earthquake.