[Nasional-e] Bali Blast - sekilas info

[Rudianto Soewondo]

Bali bomb survivor dies during flight
One of the first 15 injured Australians flown by the RAAF from Bali after a 
suspected terrorist bomb blast died en route to Darwin.The Hercules left 
Denpasar on Sunday night only half full with casualties because some of the 
victims were too ill to delay take-off until more arrived, a defence 
spokesman said.One victim died during the three-hour flight to Darwin.The 
plane touched down at 1.45am CST (0215 AEST) at Darwin airport where nine 
ambulances and an ambulance bus were ready to take them to the Royal Darwin 
Hospital.The mostly young patients, all of them burn victims, were carried, 
pushed in wheelchairs or walked unaided across the tarmac.
"I can tell you the first 15 victims of the tragedy have arrived and sadly 
one of those died in transit," hospital medical superintendent Len Notaras 
told media shortly after the victims arrived.
As many as four were in critical conditions while six or seven would be well 
enough to go home within days.With up to 100 victims expected to be flown by 
the RAAF to the hospital in about 12 hours, Dr Notaras said the first 
arrivals were not the worst injured.
"We expect that there are still some very serious cases to come," he said.
The 11 men and three women were all Australians, coming from states 
including Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.Future medical 
evacuations were expected to also include American, Canadian and New Zealand 
patients.Many of the patients appeared stunned as they were ferried to the 
hospital.
Their injuries included fractured limbs, shrapnel wounds and impaling on 
wood and glass."The sheer magnitude of what has actually occurred is going 
to take some considerable time to sink in for a lot of people including 
ourselves at the hospital," Dr Notaras said.
"It has been our own, in a sense, 11th of September; it's a tragedy."
A man, who gave only his first name, Mick, waited at the airport fence for 
hours hoping to glimpse his mate, a 25-year-old father of two, among the 
injured.
His mate, a Top End station hand who he would name only as Wayne, had gone 
to Bali on Friday for a four-day break with friends.
"Even if he gets carried off a plane on a stretcher, he's here. I just want 
to find him," Mick said.
The next Hercules was due at 6.40am CST (0710 AEST).


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