Nine Australians missing after quake aid crash

Nine Australian military personnel were presumed dead yesterday after their navy helicopter crashed during a rescue mission to Nias, the Indonesian island devastated by an earthquake.

The helicopter was involved in an aid effort along with around 1,500 Indonesian soldiers digging through the rubble of houses destroyed in the magnitude 8.7 quake on Monday night.

Rescuers pulled one Indonesian man alive from the rubble yesterday but the UN says 1,300 people may have died in Gunungsitoli, the main town on Nias.

The Royal Australian Navy Sea King helicopter crashed near Gunungsitoli shortly after 7:30 p.m. Australian eastern time (9.30 a.m. GMT), a spokesman said.

The helicopter, from the HMAS Kanimbla, had 11 people on board including three crew, but there was confusion about who else was on board.

In Jakarta, Indonesian air force spokesman Sagom Tambun said by telephone the helicopter had evacuated earthquake victims and was on its way back to the Kanimbla.

"But before it could reach the ship, it fell and burned... residents saw three of its crew escape and they are now on the ship, but we don't know yet how many crew were in the helicopter," the spokesman said.