Indonesia Earthquake: Injured victims airlifted from Flores
Key Takeaways
- Three injured earthquake victims were airlifted for hospital treatment.
- The patients included a five-year-old girl and suffered fractures and dislocations.
- Authorities reported 68 deaths and 213 injuries across the affected region.
Three injured people, including a five-year-old girl, were flown for hospital treatment as rescue teams reached communities hit by the 7.7-magnitude quake.
Three people injured in the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Indonesia's Flores island were airlifted from East Manggarai for hospital treatment on Tuesday as rescue teams pushed into affected communities.
Emergency workers stopped to pick up patients, including one on a stretcher. The exact location of the pickup could not be independently verified.
The three victims were flown by a Dauphin AS 365 N3+ helicopter from the Satar Kampas command post to Komodo International Airport in East Manggarai Regency.
"We received information that several victims suffered fractures, and we needed to evacuate them as soon as possible from East Manggarai," Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) chief Air Marshal Mohammad Syafii said.
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"This morning we are also pushing forward several medical personnel – doctors, nurses, pharmacists – and medical supplies. These must reach East Manggarai immediately, as the land journey from Labuan Bajo takes over seven hours. Hopefully, with this helicopter, we can reach the site in 25 minutes."
According to local media, the helicopter reached the Satar Kampas command post at 10:28 local time and landed at Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo at 11:00 with the three patients. They were then taken to hospital with medical personnel.
The three victims, including a five-year-old girl, were residents of Haju Wangi and Satar Padut villages in East Manggarai. They suffered fractures and dislocations, according to Basarnas.
The earthquake struck Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara, on August 15. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) measured it at magnitude 7.7 and said the shallow quake was caused by activity along the Flores Back-Arc Thrust.
Tsunami waves were recorded at several coastal locations, reaching around 1.6 metres at Pota in East Manggarai.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said 68 people had been confirmed dead by Monday, including 24 in East Manggarai, while 213 people were injured across the affected region.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
