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US relief copter crashes in Banda Aceh
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-10 20:07
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - A U.S. helicopter on a relief mission crashed in a
rice paddy 500 yards from the Banda Aceh airport Monday, injuring two
servicemen. Schools opened for the first time since the Dec. 26 tsunami, but
many of the 150,000 lives the epic waves claimed were children, and thousands of
desks sat empty.
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| Rescuers try to carry out injured crew members from a crashed
helicopter in Banda Aceh, capital of Indonesia's Aceh Province Monday,
Jan. 10, 2005. [Xinhua] | Workers, meanwhile,
struggled to recover 50,000 bodies the government said were "scattered"
throughout the region.
The U.S. military said the Seahawk helicopter "executed a hard landing" and
that there was no evidence it was shot down near the airport in Banda Aceh,
capital of Indonesia's hard-hit Aceh province and the hub of international aid
operations. Lt. Cmdr. John M. Daniels blamed the crash on a "possible mechanical
failure."
He said one person fractured an ankle and the other dislocated his hip. The
other eight suffered "no significant injuries," he said.
"There was no fire ball but a little smoke. It landed on its side," said
Capt. Joe Plenzler, adding that the helicopter's propeller was twisted from the
impact. Fifteen Seahawk helicopters from the Lincoln group have been flying up
to nine hours a day on aid missions. Normally they fly a maximum of three to
four hours a day.
The crash came amid heightened security concerns in several tsunami-hit areas
with ethnic rebellions — particularly in Aceh, where rebels have waged a
separatist war in the province for nearly three decades. United Nations staff in
Aceh are on high alert, and armed guards patrol their compounds amid fears of
rebel attacks.
Aftershocks from the massive earthquake that spawned the killer waves
continued to rattle residents in the hardest-hit countries. A 6.2-magnitude
temblor sent people scrambling from their homes early Monday in Banda Aceh; no
injuries or damage were reported.
Indonesian authorities promised to speed up the grim task of recovering and
burying the dead. Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab said 58,281 bodies had been
buried in the shattered area on the northern tip of Sumatra island. He said some
50,000 more are "scattered" around the region.
Some corpses are still trapped in collapsed buildings and rotting under
debris in canals and rivers. Their stench still hangs over some areas of the
provincial capital.
In the latest sign life is slowly returning to normal, children returned to
school in Indonesia and Sri Lanka for the start of the new term — long before
many institutions damaged in the disaster can provide proper education. Social
workers hope the resumption of studies will help children overcome the trauma of
the catastrophe.
About 80 students, some accompanied by their parents, showed up at state-run
Vidyaloka, in Galle, Sri Lanka, a tiny fraction of the 2,400 who are registered.
Some had no uniforms.
In a rare happy story, a 22-year-old Indonesian, Ari Afrizal, was rescued at
sea sometime late last week by the United Arab Emirates-registered AL Yamamah,
said Sasheila Paramsothy, a spokeswoman for the shipping harbor Westport
Malaysia.
Ari was swept out to sea when the tsunami hit his home in Aceh, Paramsothy
said, adding that the ship crew has not provided other details.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was assessing damage in the Maldives, a
low-lying string of coral atolls in the Indian Ocean that lost 82 people. The
United Nations is now coordinating humanitarian relief efforts in all the
countries affected by the disaster and is taking that responsibility "very, very
seriously," Annan said.
A senior Navy officer involved in the humanitarian aid mission said the U.S.
military is likely to remain in tsunami-devastated areas for an extended period.
"I don't see an end to this for a long, long time," Capt. Larry Burt said of
the American presence on Sumatra island. Burt is the commander of the air wing
aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
For more than a week, U.S. military helicopters have been rushing food, water
and medical supplies to areas inaccessible to other aid worker and in desperate
need.
Indonesian military chief Endriartono Sutarto told The Associated Press that
his forces are not conducting offensive operations against Acehnese rebels
despite reports they've attacked aid convoys and even briefly kidnapped
Indonesian relief workers.
Sutarto said the workers were rescued by Indonesian forces but gave no
further details.
Indonesia's military warned aid workers Sunday that rebels in Aceh were
taking shelter in camps for survivors, but the government dismissed those claims
Monday. The government also said rebels were not responsible for a shooting near
the main U.N. compound on Sunday, contradicting earlier assertions by the
country's military and police.
Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab said a troubled Indonesian soldier, not a rebel
gunman, was responsible for the burst of gunfire. The soldier was in custody,
Shihab said.
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