Howard visits Sea King crash survivors

DARWIN - Prime Minister John Howard has interrupted a trip to the Northern Territory to visit the two survivors of the navy Sea King helicopter crash, who were today in a military hospital in Darwin.

Mr Howard, travelling to the remote Northern Territory Aboriginal community of Wadeye, stopped at the Robertson army barracks in Darwin to visit the two men, airlifted from Indonesia overnight, a spokesman said.

Able Seaman Shane Warburton, 29, and Leading Aircraftman Scott Nicholls were pulled from the burning wreckage of the helicopter on the Indonesian island of Nias on Saturday after the crash that killed nine of their colleagues.

Leading Aircraftman Nicholls, an RAAF paramedic, and Able Seaman Warburton, a navy communications operator, will undergo further treatment for their injuries after initial care aboard HMAS Kanimbla.

Able Seaman Warburton has a shattered arm and a punctured lung and Leading Aircraftman Nicholls broke a leg.

Both are from the Hunter Valley in NSW.

The two servicemen are believed to have survived the crash because they were in a rear section of the Sea King when it plunged into a soccer field in the remote village of Amandraya.

Defence has said both are in a stable condition after being transferred from the Kanimbla yesterday.

A defence spokeswoman said Mr Howard took the opportunity to visit the two men while they were in transit in Darwin.

The two are to be flown to another, undisclosed, location.

No further details of Mr Howard's meeting with the pair were immediately available.

Mr Howard and Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin signed a landmark agreement in Darwin today to improve services in indigenous communities.

Mr Howard is also to travel to Wadeye to meet indigenous leaders to discuss assistance to the community.

- AAP