Vanuatu earthquake: Getting Australians home a priority, diplomatic mission says

Australia’s diplomatic mission in Vanuatu says getting citizens home after the Pacific Island nation’s earthquake tragedy is a priority, as rescuers expand a search for trapped survivors to ‘numerous places of collapse’ beyond the capital Port Vila.

People boarding a Royal Australian Air Force plane after this week’s earthquake that devastated Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu. Picture: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Australia’s diplomatic mission in Vanuatu says getting citizens home after the Pacific Island nation’s earthquake tragedy is a priority, as rescuers expand a search for trapped survivors to “numerous places of collapse” beyond the capital Port Vila.

A post on the Australian high commission in Vanuatu’s Facebook page acknowledged difficulties faced by those who have been stranded since Tuesday’s 7.3 magnitude earthquake flattened buildings, set off landslides, destroyed water supplies and downed power and communications networks.

The death toll from the disaster remains unclear, with the government initially confirming 14 deaths. Early on Friday, it said 10 deaths had been verified by the hospital, but officials expected the number would rise.

More than 200 people were treated for injuries, officials said, but that figure has not been updated since around early Wednesday.

Nearly 1,000 people have been displaced, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, with that number too likely to grow.

“We understand this is a challenging time and that connectivity remains difficult following the tragic events in Vanuatu,” the high commission posted late Friday.

“Our team is working hard, together with the Government of Vanuatu, to help get Australians home as a priority. We’re continuing to visit hotels for welfare checks and are reaching out to those who have registered on the crisis portal.”

A further 135 Australian citizens returned from Vanuatu on Royal Australian Air Force flights overnight Thursday. A total of 283 Australians have now been assisted to return to Brisbane on four flights.

The RAAF planes had flown urban rescue crews, medical teams, additional federal police officers and supplies to Vanuatu as part of Australia’s humanitarian response to the earthquake.

Some Australians stranded in Vanuatu had pleaded for more help to leave after missing out on the emergency RAAF flights, saying they were being turned away from the high commission.

Others who made the flights were joyous to make it home from the disaster zone.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said Australia is “here to help Vanuatu”, an archipelago of 80 islands and home to about 330,000 people.

Two of the dead were Chinese and one French, their embassies have confirmed.

Australia and New Zealand have dispatched more than 100 personnel, along with rescue gear, dogs and aid supplies, to help hunt for survivors and make emergency repairs.

There are “several major collapse sites where buildings are fully pancaked”, Australia’s 69-strong rescue team leader Douglas May said in a video update provided by Canberra on Friday.

“Outside of that, there’s a lot of smaller collapses around the place,” Mr May said.

“We’re now starting to spread out to see whether there’s further people trapped and further damage. And we’ve found numerous places of collapse east and west out of the city.”

In Port Vila, rescuers have focused on disaster areas that include a collapsed block of retail outlets and offices known as the Billabong building after its flagship store.

Additional reporting: AP, AFP