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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel are undertaking a massive air lift operation to ensure essential relief workers and supplies reach the earthquake-affected regions of West Sumatra.

According to an Australian embassy media release on Thursday, around 111 RAAF personnel are involved in the operation.

This includes air load teams, pilots and load masters, as well as two C-130 aircraft based in Jakarta and one in Darwin.

The C-130s have flown more than 50 sorties between Jakarta and Padang, carrying more than 230 tonnes of cargo.

Additionally, the RAAF air load team has assisted in unloading nearly all foreign military and chartered civilian aircraft that have flown emergency aid to the earthquake affected area.

Initially, the air load team had the only heavy forklift in Padang.

Flight Lieutenant Paul Kretschmann, officer in charge of one of the air load teams, said it had been hard work but they had achieved a lot.

"In the first week, we`ve unloaded in the vicinity of 250 tonnes of cargo from over 100 ADF, foreign military and charter aircraft," Flight Lieutenant Kretschmann said.

He said the team had supported RAAF operations plus aircraft from Indonesia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Mathew Warnock, a load master from one of the RAAF C-130 Hercules involved in the airlift operation, said everything from vehicles and equipment through to basic essentials such as food, water and blankets have been flown in by the aircrew and unloaded by the teams.

"We`ve been flying two sorties a day into the airfields at max capacity, so the aircraft have pretty much been max weight or bulked out with the pallets," Warnock said.

He said they had been taking about 25,000 (11,300kg) a trip into Padang.
Commander of the Australian Joint Task Force, Colonel Mark Brewer, said the team had provided a mission critical role at the airport.

"Our mission could not have proceeded without the tireless work of the small RAAF air load teams in Padang and Jakarta, as well as the pilots and loadmasters, that have worked around the clock flying in and unloading not just our equipment, but the large amount of aid that has been essential to other aid agencies that have arrived in Padang," Brewer said.(*)
 

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

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