The Hindu : International : Quake toll rises to 5,700; hope for survivors fades

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 31, 2006

International

International

Quake toll rises to 5,700; hope for survivors fades

Emergency relief operation involving 22 countries picks up pace

BANTUL (Indonesia): Hopes of finding more survivors in the rubble of Indonesia's devastating earthquake waned on Tuesday, as an emergency relief operation involving 22 countries picked up pace to help 200,000 people left homeless.

The airport in the historic city of Yogyakarta, the one closest to the area worst hit by Saturday's quake that killed nearly 5,700 persons, reopened after cracks in the runway were repaired. Two U.S. Marines cargo planes were among the first aid flights to land.

Shortage of food

Most of the survivors of Saturday's 6.3-magnitude quake were living in improvised shacks close to their demolished homes or in shelters erected in rice fields.

Getting food and fresh water remained a pressing concern, and thousands of people have taken to begging for cash and supplies along roadways.

Mount Merapi, a nearby volcano that was erupting at a low level before the quake hit and where activity has increased since, continued to spit hot ash and gas into the air. But the threat of a health crisis seemed to be easing, as medical aid began arriving and construction began on several military field hospitals. The Asian Development Bank announced a total of $60 million in grants and low-interest loans to Indonesia for rebuilding costs in the earthquake zone.

About 20 U.S. Marines arrived on two military cargo planes in Yogyakarta and unloaded heavy lifting machinery and a portable field hospital.

A 44-member team of doctors, search and rescue workers and seismologists from China arrived with 5 tonnes of supplies including a field hospital, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Thailand said it would send 48 military medical personnel along with medicine and equipment.

Teams from Malaysia, Singapore and other nations are already working in the area.

Thousands homeless

Abdul Aziz Ahmad, the head of a Malaysia search and rescue team, said hope had faded of finding more survivors or bodies. ``The collapsed homes were all so small that anyone who was trapped would have been extracted by their family members,'' he said.

The quake pounded tens of thousands of homes into piles of bricks, tiles and wood in less than a minute, as many victims slept or were preparing breakfast.

The death toll according to the Government's Social Affairs Ministry on Tuesday stood at 5,698. Ministry officials say the numbers keep rising as they account for bodies buried quickly in mass graves after the quake.

Hospitals were initially overwhelmed with the injured.

Some 22 countries have contributed or pledged assistance to the Southeast Asian country, the U.N. has said. An emergency appeal by the global body is expected later this week. — AP

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