Related Event: Asian Tsunami Disaster

Six days after the earthquake on Nias Island, the death toll is said to have risen to over 1,600.

The international community is undertaking rescue work and disaster relief on the island.

However, tragedy struck the Australian contingent when an Australian navy helicopter on a mission to evacuate patients from the southern end of Nias island to hospital crashed killing nine people aboard.

A second helicopter brought the two survivors of the crash back to hospital in Kanimbla, capital of Nias Island.

As heavy rains and ruined roads have been hampering relief efforts, Oxfam estimates 10 percent of the island have been assessed by aid agencies.

The Indonesian government says the problems lie with distribution.

It has promised more ships and helicopters. It pledged immediate logistic help, clean water, restoring infrastructure within a month and resumption of power supplies to at least one third of the island within a week.

As one of the ethnic groups living on the island Chinese have suffered greatly from the quake, which killed 560 of their 2,000 strong population.

Local residents say that since most Indonesian Chinese on the island lived in multi-storey-buildings, quite a few of them have been killed and injured. Some of their bodies are still buried under the debris.

The Indonesian Chinese Association has set up a rescue center on the island for disaster relief. Here is one official from the organization:


"We have so far donated rice and mineral water for disaster relief here. And we'll offer further assistance for them."

Meanwhile, overseas assistance is also increasing with the number of aid workers from the United Nations and foreign NGOs exceeded 130.