Asian neighbors assist RI after bombings

Asian neighbors assist RI after bombings

Agencies, Sydney, Australia

Australia was readying to fly military aircraft and two commercial flights to Indonesia's Bali on Sunday, with Singapore and other neighbors also responding after blasts again rocked the tourism-reliant island.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Indonesia had already asked for help from Australian police and that victim identification experts were on their way to Bali.

Australian police will help their Indonesian counterparts investigate the latest Bali bombings as they did after the 2002 attacks, police commissioner Mick Keelty said on Sunday.

Fifteen Australian federal police were already in Bali and another 13 officers and detectives were due to arrive on Sunday night, Keelty told reporters.

A series of blasts in crowded Bali restaurants on Saturday killed 26 people and wounded another 107. One Australian was confirmed dead and 17 others were injured.

Howard said C-130 military transport planes would leave for Bali later on Sunday to help evacuate Australians and any others who needed assistance and that emergency medical teams were being assembled.

Two gravely ill Australians were evacuated to Singapore by SOS International, while a third would be sent to either Darwin or Perth in Australia.

"We have offered full medical evacuation of people who need it irrespective of their nationality," Howard said.

Australian police worked closely with their Indonesian counterparts after the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202, including 88 Australians, and the 2004 suicide bombing of Australia's Jakarta embassy.

Keelty said the bombs which killed 26 people this time were different to those which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in the October 2002 attacks.

"It appears that there has been less incendiary chemical used in the bombs and that the injury and the deaths are being caused by shrapnel," Keelty said.

"So in that sense it's not exactly the same as the bombing of the nightclubs in Bali on the October evening back in 2002," when many were burnt to death.

Local police were examining the remains of three suspected suicide bombers, he said.

"They have three heads that they're examining and that's a typical outcome from a suicide bomber, but that's not yet confirmed and that will require further analysis as the evening progresses," Keelty said.

The bomb analysis skills of the Australian police would be in particular demand, he said.

"To identify the type of explosive that's been used and to try and quickly identify particularly whether they're suicide vests, the origin of those vests, the type of material that's been used in the bomb to try and determine the origins of that and how widely available that is," Keelty said.

The breakthrough in the investigation of the 2002 car bombings came with the discovery of a piece of debris with the car's engine number on it.

Keelty said that the Australian police response was smaller than in 2002 but more officers would be sent if asked for by the Indonesian authorities.

Japan said it had no immediate plans to evacuate its nationals or to send emergency teams. One Japanese was among the dead and four others were injured.

A Singapore Airlines spokesman said its flights to and from Bali were continuing as scheduled and that it had seen no substantial cancellations.

Japanese travel agency H.I.S. said it had canceled all its tours to Bali on Sunday but planned to resume them on Monday and would allow customers to change the timing or destination of their bookings between Oct. 3-11.

Howard sympathized with Bali over its potential losses from canceled bookings but said it was understandable.

"Bali is a lovely spot, it's so sad that the economy of Bali is going to be ruined again," he said, adding that Australia had helped upgrade facilities at Bali's hospital after the 2002 bombings.

"Those upgraded facilities have been put, sadly, to very good use overnight," he said.