Heart torn from nation's tourist haven

By GREG ANSLEY

BALI - Bali's agony begins with a cluster of grim faces, soldiers armed with assault rifles and senses of numbness and outrage.

Four days ago this narrow road, lined on one side with trees and on both with clubs, restaurants and bars, was the heart of Indonesia's global resort.

Today, with many of the more than 180 confirmed dead still unidentified in the mortuary, others missing or unaccounted for and almost 200 injured - mostly burned or torn by shrapnel - the street points to the worst terrorist attack since September 11.

The full extent of the blasts is masked by the military and police cordon that parts only briefly to allow a fire engine to pass through.

But a crater gapes where the Sari Club and Paddys bar once stood, and rubble has punched through surrounding buildings and litters the road.

In all, 27 buildings were pulverised when the two car bombs exploded, crushing and impacting those closest and ripping the walls from those farther away.

Cars were lifted and heaved into the cauldron.

One sits on its side, smashed and twisted high among the debris.

Others are charred and battered wrecks, their doors pounded inwards or ripped off in the explosions and their bodies roasted by the flames that incinerated the Sari Club and many of those inside.

Contorted sheets of corrugated iron litter the scene, punctuated by twisted steel and surrounded on all sides by the gaping facades of damaged buildings.

In one corner a lone palm has survived, its tattered fronds ruffled by the tropical breeze.

In another a lone tower still stands.

For a block or more around the blast zone, the shattered windows of shops have been taped.

"In Bali, first time," says numbed local Ib Laksaru. "Terrible, terrible."

The pain is felt by the crowd of several hundred who gather to stare in silence or subdued conversation in front of the police line.

Elsewhere in Kuta, along the beachfront where surfers still dot the waves and tourists stroll, and in the choked back streets, the resort is getting on with life.

In the streets beyond the police cordon, women offer flowers and food to Hindu deities and ancestors.

One local youth cruises up to the cordon on his motorcycle wearing a white shirt with the slogan "bin Laden don't surf".

But when they near the crater, the mood sobers.

Despite the smiles and apparent energy, Kuta is suffering.

Business is slow along the seafront, and one taxi driver complains of an increasing flow of traffic out to the airport at Denpasar as tourists cut short their holidays.

"Very quiet, Bali," he says. "Everyone leaving."

Hotels, previously fully booked or near capacity, now have plenty of rooms available. The flow out of Bali prompted Qantas yesterday to add two extra flights to Sydney and one to Melbourne.

Although there is no reason to suspect another blast, many do not want to take the chance.

No one knows yet who set the bombs, although rumours and speculation are rife.

At the top of the list are extremist Muslim groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah, allegedly linked to al Qaeda, and Laskar Jihad, which recruits its white-uniformed supporters from the poor and unemployed.

Some believe the explosions could have been the work of terrorists fighting to establish a separate Muslim state, choosing Bali for its Hindu dominance and popularity with tourists.

There is even speculation that the bombs could have been set by supporters of the former Suharto regime, still furious at Australia for leading the United Nations force into East Timor and targeting Kuta nightspots in the certainty of killing and wounding many Australians.

Whoever is responsible, the agony continues.

Yesterday, officials from the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta continued to search Kuta hospitals for injured countrymen.

As far as can be determined, 12 New Zealanders were hurt. The more serious cases may have been flown to Australia by now. There remain persistent but unconfirmed reports that one Kiwi died.

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

Pictures from the scene of the blast

Related links