RI shares U.S. grief over hurricane

RI shares U.S. grief over hurricane

INDONESIA: Indonesia on Saturday offered condolences to the United States over the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, saying that after last year's tsunami disaster they shared the same grief.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offered "prayers and support for the government and the people of the United States" and hoped that towns hit by the hurricane would soon recover, a presidential statement said.

After experiencing a massive tsunami that killed 131,000 people in Aceh province on Sumatra island last December, Indonesia shared the same "deep pain currently felt by Americans," the statement said.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the U.S. Gulf Coast on Monday, thrashing the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The death toll is unknown but is expected to reach the thousands. -- AFP