Vanuatu earthquake: Australians tell 'horrific' scenes as more flights return home

More stranded Australians have returned home after Vanuatu's worst earthquake this century, amid fears the death toll could rise as damaged infrastructure is searched. Which destroyed Port Vila on Tuesday. Their arrival came after the Australian government repatriated 148 citizens on defense aircraft on Wednesday. A total of 283 Australians have now been helped back to Brisbane across four flights.

Two additional Royal Australian Air Force humanitarian aid flights are scheduled to take place in Port Vila on Friday to provide further assistance to relief efforts in Vanuatu and bring more Australians back to Brisbane.

The Australian government repatriated 148 citizens on defense aircraft earlier in the week. Source: AP/LAC Campbell Latch

“We are safe”

With fists in her fist and tears of relief, Chantelle Mara looked visibly emotional as she stepped onto the tarmac at Brisbane International Airport, finally returning home after witnessing the devastation caused by the Vanuatu earthquake. “It feels so good to be home,” she said. Australian Associated Press.

“We're home. We're safe.”

Up to 14 people are feared to have died from the quake, with nine confirmed dead, including a young mother who had just come from a nine-month work assignment in Queensland. Rodney Prestia, CEO of labor hire company iComply, said the 26-year-old woman, whom he identified only as Valerie, was crushed in the collapsed building. He said.

No Australians have been confirmed killed in the earthquake yet, with the Red Cross reporting that at least 200 people were injured in the disaster.

Communication is “non-existent”.

“I saw buildings collapsing around me, I watched people… I saw someone being crushed. It was horrific,” Shane Cook, who was in Port Vila when the quake struck, said on Thursday evening.

“Everyone started screaming ‘Tsunami!’ so we had to climb a giant hill.”

Cook described waiting for hours in uncertainty: “We literally sat on top of the hill for five and a half hours until someone came to us and gave us some information to go to the Australian High Commission.”

Another Australian, who wanted to be identified only as Henry due to privacy concerns, earlier in the week described challenges, including a lack of communications from the Australian government and the struggle to find accommodation.

They checked into a resort but heard nothing from the Australian government about what to do, and had to leave that accommodation the next day because they didn't have a reservation. The manager drove them to the High Commission, and although staff assured them they would be there, he told AAP: “No further communication or support was provided, even after waiting for over an hour.” A Qantas representative was able to arrange accommodation at the Holiday Inn. But Henry said that even on Thursday afternoon, many Australians were frustrated. “All Australian guests staying here are extremely disappointed that no representative from the High Commission has visited the hotel to provide updates,” he told AAP.

Australian teams are now on the ground, working closely with Vanuatu authorities to conduct urban search and rescue operations, remove hazardous materials and support health services.

Key infrastructure was destroyed

Rebecca Olul, a UNICEF child protection officer, said she had left the charity's office in Vanuatu for lunch and exiting a café when the quake struck, causing her to fall to the ground. “I looked up and hoped it wouldn't fall on me,” she told AAP. The UNICEF field office in Port Vila, in a six-storey building, was damaged, but all 19 staff members survived injury and are now safe. Olul said she was driving around the city and people were still sitting in parks and under trees, afraid of aftershocks that might cause damage. More collapses. International assistance was needed to restore key infrastructure, and it was not clear how long recovery might take, according to Oluol. Prestia, who switched his business to Pacific workers when backpackers stopped arriving due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said he had worked with more than 1,000 “amazing” workers from Vanuatu. He said any Australians wanting to help Vanuatu should visit the Melanesian paradise when conditions permitted.

“It's two and a half hours away. It's clean.”

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