Americans and Aussies said missing since tidal waves

JAKARTA (JP): Nineteen American and Australian tourists who were spending their vacation surfing near Banyuwangi have been reported missing since massive tidal waves swept across villages along the southeastern coast of Java last Friday.

Reports that foreigners may have fallen victim to the disaster surfaced late because they were staying in Plengkung, a tiny village about 70 kilometers south of Banyuwangi which had earlier been thought to have been spared from the tidal waves.

The Yogyakarta-based newspaper Kedaulatan Rakyat however reported on Tuesday that 31 foreigners, mostly Americans and Australians, were staying at guest houses in Plengkung, an off the beaten track site they found ideal for surfing.

Nineteen are reported to be missing while 12 others are currently being accommodated at relief centers.

"We were late because we've been concentrating on other areas," Banyuwangi regency spokesman Mas'ud Imra was quoted by Kedaulatan Rakyat as saying. He added that the authorities were only alerted to the foreigners' presence in the area when the Australian embassy in Jakarta called them up to query about the fate of their citizens.

The 12 surviving foreigners have said that all their belongings, including passports and cameras had been swept by the tidal waves which battered the cottages where they were staying.

In Jakarta, the Australian embassy last night confirmed that there were 22 Australians on the location at the time of the tidal waves.

First secretary John Zubryzcki said the embassy is sending staff to Banyuwangi today to investigate. The U.S. Embassy spokesman was not available for confirmation last night.

Meanwhile, the Geneva-based United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA) announced yesterday it was sending $30,000 to the Indonesian government to help the relief operation in Banyuwangi.

The package includes food, clothing and kitchen appliances, the UNDHA said in a statement yesterday. (prs)