Government offers planes, medical staff following Bali explosions

11.45am

New Zealand is prepared to send a plane to rescue holidaymakers from Bali if necessary but injured Kiwis could be flown out on Australian planes, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff this morning said latest reports were of 216 dead, including one New Zealander whose name had been seen on a hospital list of deceased.

He said another New Zealander was missing and there were fears for his safety although it was possible he was elsewhere and had not yet notified authorities.

Mr Goff said on National Radio eight New Zealanders were badly injured although this figure could rise.

More than 300 people -- many Australians and other foreigners -- were wounded when two bombs went off in a nightclub district of the popular holiday destination.

Sky News in Australia has reported 13 Australians confirmed dead and 110 confirmed injured. The Australian Associated Press says one of the first 15 injured Australians flown from Bali to Darwin by the Australian airforce this morning died en route.

The Australian Hercules aircraft left Denpasar last night but was only half full because some of the victims were too ill to delay take-off until more arrived, a defence spokesman told the AAP.

Twenty-four hours after the attacks near Kuta Beach, overwhelmed hospitals struggled to care for hundreds of injured, many with horrific burns from the explosions and inferno that followed. Volunteers reported a shortage of basic medical supplies, including pain-killers and saline solution.

Bodies of victims wrapped in white sheets filled the morgue of Bali's main hospital. Friends and relatives searched for missing loved ones in the wards.

Mark Donovan, a volunteer at a missing persons desk at the hospital, said the bulk of those unaccounted for were Australians. "But we have people from South Africa, Holland, Peru -- you name it," he said.

A noticeboard giving information on hospital admissions included a section called "Identity Unknown". One entry read: "Young girl in intensive care, 11-14 years old, face burned, in coma. Caucasian." Another read: "Girl in intensive care, about 5-years-old, 130cm, fair skin, caucasian with reddish brown hair. She has a purplish belly button ring."

The explosions turned a throbbing strip of bars and discotheques near Kuta Beach into a scene of slaughter.

Badly burned youngsters in T-shirts and sandals stumbled dazed around streets scattered with bodies, severed limbs and the twisted wreckage of cars.

Hanabeth Luke, a fair-haired 22-year-old from England, was mourning her boyfriend, a mechanic, killed as the two danced at the Sari.

"I was dancing to Eminem, enjoying the flow, when I heard the first bang. Many people stood still, then there was the second. It was an incredible force of wind and heat," she said.

"Somehow I managed to climb out through the roof. I was in the street in a complete daze, yelling out my boyfriend's name, but I had a strong feeling that he was dead," Luke said. Friends later told her his body had been found.

"I now have to ship my boyfriend home to England," she said.

Helen Clark said the exact number of New Zealanders caught by the blasts was not yet known.

A spokesman for Mr Goff told NZPA the minister had spoken to Australian foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer last night and offered planes and medical staff.

However, he was waiting to hear from the Australians what help they wanted.

"If we need to get a plane in we will certainly get one in but for the time being, very close liaison with the Australians suggests that their evacuation is probably the most timely," Miss Clark said on breakfast television.

Mr Goff said military teams were on standby to get a plane there if needed.

He said injured New Zealanders could leave Bali on Australian air force planes while extra commercial flights had been put on so New Zealanders who had not been injured and wanted to leave Bali should be able to do so.

Miss Clark said she had spoken to Australian Prime Minister John Howard last night "to offer our condolences to Australia".

Mr Howard had said many Australian sports professionals travelled to Bali at this time of year to rest after a busy season.

"So, it's struck at a very bad time."

Miss Clark said 310 New Zealanders "appeared to be safe and sound".

"Tragically, this has struck eight hours' flight from New Zealand in a place where a lot of New Zealanders go to holiday. One of the longer term consequences is going to be the devastation to the economy of Bali -- about 90 per cent of which, I understand, revolves around tourism."

Mr Goff said every effort was needed to be made to stop terrorism.

"This is an ongoing problem. The war against terrorism isn't over."

Overnight, there had been another bomb alert at a sports stadium in Jakarta, "which tends to suggest that with the two bomb attacks in Bali yesterday, the bombing in north Sulawesi and this other bomb alert that this is part of a concerted campaign".

Mr Goff told NZPA no one had claimed responsibility for the attacks.

There had been warnings from the American embassy in Jakarta about 10 days ago of extremist Islamic groups with al Qaeda links that were planning car bombings in Jakarta.

There had been nothing to suggest Bali was a target.

"Obviously, they decided that this was an area they could target westerners as well as do a lot of damage in an area of Indonesia which of course is predominantly Hindu.

"This damages the Indonesia government, it damages the Indonesian economy and those that committed the act might hope that this will work in favour of the establishment of an Islamic state in Indonesia."

However, people would be appalled by the attacks which could also have seen Indonesians killed.

Mr Goff said he would know soon if Australia wanted to take up New Zealand's offer of planes and medical staff to help with the evacuation.

However, he believed the Australians had the resources to cope.

- NZPA, REUTERS

Bali messages

New Zealand travellers in Bali, and their families in New Zealand, can post messages on our Bali Messages page.

Foreign Affairs advice to New Zealanders

* Travellers should defer travel to Bali

* NZers in Bali should keep a low profile and remain calm

* Foreign Affairs Hotline: 0800 432 111

Feature: Bali bomb blast

Related links

Pictures from the scene of the blast

Further reading
Feature: Indonesia and East Timor

Related links