Press Room > Oxfam Ireland Press Release

The first Oxfam relief flight which left Kent International airport on 1st April carrying aid for the island of Nias has landed Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Jeremie Delarge, an Oxfam aid worker speaking from Nias said, "The conditions are desperate. The rain is torrential, and thousands of people who have lost their homes are sleeping under plastic sheeting. Oxfam already has basic emergency supplies on the island, but this equipment will help us provide clean water for 20,000 people on Nias and stop the spread of disease.

When the relief plane landed the emergency supplies they were then delivered to the island of Nias by helicopter and by boat.

Alex Renton, another Oxfam aid worker said: "The water system in the main city was ripped apart by the earthquake. There are tens of thousands of very frightened people on this island. The fuel we flew in today is a lifeline for these survivors, it will keep the water pumps going until equipment from the UK arrives in the next few days".

Aid also arrived on Nias by boat. Eight Oxfam trucks from Medan made the six hour boat journey to the remote island of Nias. The trucks contain 2,000 blankets, 5,000 portions of rice, 5,000 jerry cans, clothes and shoes for 5,000 people, as well as cooking kits, tools and medical supplies. More aid equipment including water pumps, water tanks and communications equipment worth nearly £500,000 will leave the UK within days.

Oxfam continues to evacuate people by helicopter who had been critically injured in the quake. 70% of the buildings in the city have collapsed and many people on the island need urgent assistance. Oxfam is already getting aid onto the ground and much more aid is on the way"

Keep a close eye on our website www.oxfamireland.org for regular updates on the situation