Americans and Aussies said missing since tidal waves
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)