Rescuers unearth tsunami horror in the Andamans

By: Pratap Chakravarty

PORT BLAIR, India - Indian rescuers using heavy equipment yesterday shifted mountains of debris in the Andaman islands unearthing horrors trapped beneath after tsunamis slammed into the archipelago.

Helicopters airlifted a bulldozer and other heavy machinery to the

hard-hit northern island of Car Nicobar where the official death

toll stood at 320 with 494 of its 29 000 population missing 10 days

after the giant waves struck.

"We're ferrying heavy equipment to Nicobar and they're working

in the rubble," Lieutenant General BS Thakur, in charge of the

mammoth relief operation in the Andamans, said in Port Blair,

capital of the Indian territory.

 

"This will give us a clearer picture of the damage," he told

reporters.

 

The Nicobar group of islands bore the brunt of the force of the

giant waves.

 

Soldiers in masks pitched in to help as a bulldozer shovelled

through mounds of concrete, digging out decomposing bodies,

clothing and household goods like crushed TV sets and

air-conditioners, rescuers from the Car Nicobar site said.

 

"The horror of Nicobar will unfold now," said a senior officer

manning a relief control room in Port Blair which suffered only a

handful of casualties.

 

Some 110 Indian Air Force personnel and their families died when

the tsunamis flattened a Nicobar airbase.

 

Without heavy equipment, rescuers could find only 43 bodies

among in the multi-storey buildings that collapsed.

 

Trained military dogs have sniffed out dozens of sites where

rescuers believe corpses will be found as the heavy equipment moves

piled-up concrete, mangled iron girders, smashed timber and other

rubble.

 

"Whole families are missing. In some places, entire

neighbourhoods have vanished and we think we'll find some answers

when these are cleared," the official at the control room said,

asking to remain unnamed.

 

Most island survivors were evacuated to other islands.

 

A worse story seemed to set to unfold in Katchal where 4 657 of

its about 7 000 people were missing and 96 declared dead.

 

Some 2 000 were in relief camps.

 

The army has five more helicopters which will carry heavy

equipment to Katchal and other islands.

 

"Injuries among survivors indicate most were hurt by collapsing

structures or buried in their own homes and we think once

bulldozers and cutters reach Katchal our fears will come true," the

control room official said.

 

"From the damage we've seen, we can say Katchal is very badly

hit," Thakur said.

 

Naval ships, Air Force planes, helicopters, coastguard

speedboats and even canoes have been pressed into relief action

Some 38 of the 556 islands in the far-flung Andaman and Nicobar

chain lying 1 200 kilometres off the Indian mainland are

inhabited.

 

The islands lie near the epicentre of the Indonesian earthquake

that triggered the waves.

 

-Nampa-AFP

 

"We're ferrying heavy equipment to Nicobar and they're working in

the rubble," Lieutenant General BS Thakur, in charge of the mammoth

relief operation in the Andamans, said in Port Blair, capital of

the Indian territory."This will give us a clearer picture of the

damage," he told reporters.The Nicobar group of islands bore the

brunt of the force of the giant waves.Soldiers in masks pitched in

to help as a bulldozer shovelled through mounds of concrete,

digging out decomposing bodies, clothing and household goods like

crushed TV sets and air-conditioners, rescuers from the Car Nicobar

site said."The horror of Nicobar will unfold now," said a senior

officer manning a relief control room in Port Blair which suffered

only a handful of casualties.Some 110 Indian Air Force personnel

and their families died when the tsunamis flattened a Nicobar

airbase.Without heavy equipment, rescuers could find only 43 bodies

among in the multi-storey buildings that collapsed.Trained military

dogs have sniffed out dozens of sites where rescuers believe

corpses will be found as the heavy equipment moves piled-up

concrete, mangled iron girders, smashed timber and other

rubble."Whole families are missing. In some places, entire

neighbourhoods have vanished and we think we'll find some answers

when these are cleared," the official at the control room said,

asking to remain unnamed.Most island survivors were evacuated to

other islands.A worse story seemed to set to unfold in Katchal

where 4 657 of its about 7 000 people were missing and 96 declared

dead.Some 2 000 were in relief camps.The army has five more

helicopters which will carry heavy equipment to Katchal and other

islands."Injuries among survivors indicate most were hurt by

collapsing structures or buried in their own homes and we think

once bulldozers and cutters reach Katchal our fears will come

true," the control room official said."From the damage we've seen,

we can say Katchal is very badly hit," Thakur said.Naval ships, Air

Force planes, helicopters, coastguard speedboats and even canoes

have been pressed into relief action Some 38 of the 556 islands in

the far-flung Andaman and Nicobar chain lying 1 200 kilometres off

the Indian mainland are inhabited.The islands lie near the

epicentre of the Indonesian earthquake that triggered the

waves.-Nampa-AFP

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