Rescuers comb rubble on quake-hit Indonesian isle

Rescuers and survivors combed through the rubble of collapsed buildings on Indonesia's quake-devastated Nias island at dawn yesterday after a night of rain and aftershocks.

At least 1,000 people were killed by Monday's huge quake which hit this island famed as a surfing paradise, flattening parts of its main town, Gunungsitoli, according to officials.

Rescue and body recovery efforts have been hampered by a shortage of fuel and poor weather following the magnitude 8.7 quake - which came just three months after a December 26 quake and tsunami left as some 300,000 people killed or missing around the Indian Ocean.

Monday's quake sparked fear across the Indian ocean region that another tsunami would strike, but initially panicked residents of coastal areas have returned to normal life.

"The main problem now is logistical issues. It is very hard to move the victims," said T. Rizal Nurdin, governor of North Sumatra province.

"It is like the situation in December. There is no logistical support like fuel," he said, adding that three Singaporean military Chinook helicopters were expected to arrive later yesterday.

Local police could be seen heading towards the town centre in a truck yesterday as dawn broke.

"We are going to find bodies," said one officer. Rain overnight added to the misery of thousands of survivors sleeping in the open because of fear regular aftershocks would bring down more buildings.

The United Nations and other international aid agencies have rushed relief workers - many already in the region because of the December 26 tsunami - to disaster-hit areas.

But due to poor weather the first aid flights only made it to Nias late on Tuesday.

More are expected, including foreign military contingents.

Australian troops were deployed to Indonesia to help with relief efforts, Defence Minister Robert Hill said in a statement. Two C-130 Hercules aircraft left Australia yesterday morning, carrying medical supplies and an aero-medial evacuation team.

The HMAS Kanimbla, which was on its way home to Australia from the tsunami-devastated province of Aceh where it was stationed after the Boxing Day disaster, has been diverted back to Indonesia, providing helicopters.

Japan yesterday sent an 11-strong emergency medical team. President George W. Bush has also offered US help.

The epicentre of the quake was about 160 kilometres southeast of the bigger one three months ago. Despite widespread panic and tsunami warnings in several countries, there was no killer wave from the quake which struck off Indonesia's large Sumatra island. It was one of the eight biggest quakes in the world since 1900.

Indonesia's disaster centre on Tuesday said the official death toll so far stood at around 1,000 people but Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said the figure could reach 2,000.

Nias is about 1,400 kilometres northwest of Indonesia's capital Jakarta and has a population of some 700,000.

Many of the buildings in Gunungsitoli, a town of 30,000, were reduced to rubble. Bodies were being collected at a town mosque and relief workers were treating the injured on a soccer field.

A senior UN official, Masood Hyder, said late on Tuesday a search and rescue team in Nias had reported there were many dead and injured in Gunungsitoli.

"We have no definitive figures on casualties... but they have already requested large quantities of tents, emergency food and facilities for medical evacuation," he said.