WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Thousands feared dead after Indonesia quake
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-02 01:33 "We have done hundreds of operations since the earthquake," said Dr Nofli Ichlas. "Some broken bones, some with limbs completely cut off. Fractured skulls, abdominal trauma too - when something has stabbed into the patients body." Heavy rain initially hampered rescue efforts and officials said power had been cut in Padang, which lies on a coastal plain and is surrounded by steep mountains that stretch far inland.
Damage to roads had affected transport of rubber in West Sumatra, the fifth-largest producing province for rubber in Indonesia. Sumatra also has some of Indonesia's largest oil fields as well as a liquefied natural gas terminal, but there were no reports of damage at those facilities. PEOPLE CROWD AIRPORT TO FLEE CITY Sumatra is one of the world's most seismically active places. A 9.15 magnitude quake, its epicentre 600 km (375 miles) northwest of Padang, caused the 2004 tsunami that killed 230,000 people in Indonesia and other Asian nations. Australian businesswoman Jane Liddon told Australian radio from Padang that the city centre was devastated. "The big buildings are down. The concrete buildings are all down, the hospitals, the main markets, down and burned." The Ambacang Hotel had also collapsed and an official said people remained trapped in the Dutch colonial-era building. On the road into the Padang area, Nasaruddin, 45, had constructed a make-shift shelter from poles and a tarpaulin to try and shelter his family after his house had collapsed. "We just ask that people know that we need donations very badly. Look at my family," said the father-of-four. Padang's airport was operating, although many people were camping out on prayer mats as they tried to flee the city, while soldiers and aid groups such as the Red Crescent arrived. Patrick Werner, 28, a German tourist at the airport, was on a beach when the quake struck. Some overseas visitors use Padang as an entry point to visit nearby beaches and mountains. "We saw some cracks emerge in the soil and water come out of the ground like it was Universal Studios," he said. Officials said more heavy equipment such as bulldozers, excavators and concrete cutters were badly needed.
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