Family flees Bali before identifying body

2.30pm

The family of New Zealander Jared Gane is leaving Bali without identifying his body after being advised to flee the Indonesian island because of a heightened risk of further terrorist attacks.

The Government is advising New Zealanders on holiday or short trips to leave Indonesia after Australia received new intelligence about the Bali bombings.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) was also considering withdrawing families of New Zealand embassy staff from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

"(MFAT) is actively reviewing withdrawing dependants of diplomats," spokesman Brad Tattersfield told NZPA today.

New Zealand had no non-essential embassy staff to withdraw, he said.

"We've only got 25 people there and that includes Trade New Zealand, MFAT, immigration and Defence. Eleven of those are staff and 14 of those are dependants."

MFAT was consulting with the families, who were still in Jakarta, he said.

Two New Zealanders are confirmed dead from the bomb attack at Kuta Beach last Sunday (NZT) and a third is missing presumed dead, while 46 remain unaccounted for.

The body of Mr Gane, 27, originally from Blenheim, was believed to have been left in a makeshift morgue in Bali last night.

Family friend Andrew de Jong and Mr Gane's stepfather, Philip Burchett, flew to Bali this week to reclaim the body.

They were to leave Bali next Wednesday but were now flying out about 1am tomorrow, NZ time, after the Australian consulate warned them of the possibility of further terrorist attacks.

Mr Tattersfield said MFAT did not know when the bodies would be released from Bali.

"It may still take some time, unfortunately," he said.

"The problem is that most of (the bodies) are not capable of visual identification and even those that are the authorities are requiring that there be forensic identification as well."

He would not confirm the process would be prolonged because the families were being advised to leave.

"No one has to leave. Our advice is that people leave," he said.

Mr Gane, who moved to Brisbane with his family 16 years ago, was initially identified in a morgue photograph by a friend living in Bali.

However, Mr de Jong said yesterday they believed that identification was incorrect and that Mr Gane was among bodies burned beyond recognition.

Meanwhile, the Timaru family of Mark Parker, 27, was last night waiting for his body to be released from Bali.

Mr Parker is the only New Zealander confirmed dead after the bombings.

"Mark has been visibly identified and priority will be given to those victims who can be," Mr Tattersfield said.

A total of 1278 New Zealander believed to have been in the area at the time of the attacks were accounted for and were safe and well, Mr Tattersfield said today.

MFAT is advising against all travel to Bali until further notice. It is also advising against travel to Aceh on the island of Sumatra, the Poso area of Central Sulawesi and non-essential travel to West Timor. All tourist and non-essential travel in Indonesia should be deferred and short-term visitors should leave.

"New Zealanders remaining in Bali should exercise extreme caution, keep a low profile, remain calm, and monitor developments closely," MFAT said on its website.

MFAT did not have detailed travel advisories for Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia or East Timor, but New Zealand travellers were advised to take "careful note" of Australian government travel advisories.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said yesterday the ministry had "some intelligence information from the Australians that would lead us to believe there is a heightened risk of a terrorist attack at the moment, particularly as the Indonesians now go about trying to arrest suspect groups for the Bali bombing".

He said the ministry was not telling people not to go to Southeast Asian countries and it had no specific information indicating threats.

"But if you're going there be vigilant, be ultra-cautious, keep away from areas where westerners are likely to congregate," he said.

- NZPA

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