Tsunami Hits Aussie Tourist boat in Indonesia, at Least Nine Missing

CONFUSION surrounds reports that the nine Australians missing after a tsunami off Indonesia have been found.

The head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency in West Sumatra told Indonesian news wire Detik.com the Australians on surf charter boat the Southern Cross "were not missing but had lost contact''.

The Herald Sun reported him as saying: "There are no westerners who have died or are injured, they are all safe''.

"I haven't seen them with my own eyes but I have been told they are alive.''

The tsunami that pounded several islands in western Indonesia killed at least 113 people and scores more are missing.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered the three-metre wave that washed hundreds of homes into the sea late on Monday.

Rescuers were having a hard time reaching the Mentawai islands, closest to the epicentre, last night because of strong winds and rough seas.


But reports of damage and injuries were steadily climbing.

Mujiharto, who heads the Health Ministry's crisis centre, said 113 bodies have been recovered so far. The number of missing was between 150 and 500.

The missing boat carrying Australians was skippered by Melbourne man Chris Scurrah. The eight passengers from Sydney's northern beaches are Clifford Humphries, Gary Mountford, Christopher Papallo, Alexander McTaggart, Neil Cox, Jeffrey Annesley, Stephen Reynolds and Colin Steell.

The Sumatran Surfarii's charter boat company said it had not been able to contact the Southern Cross since the quake hit Kepulauan Mentawai, off Sumatra's west, at 9.42pm yesterday (1.42am AEDT today).

Chris Scurrah was one of the first heroes to help rescue victims of the devastating 2004 Indonesian tsunami. He was among the nine Australians missing after an undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami in Indonesia's west.

Mr Scurrah, 35, was skippering a charter boat, carrying 10 people, when it went missing after the 7.7-magnitude quake hit the Mentawai Islands, west of Sumatra, late on Monday night.

Authorities had failed to make contact with the boat for more than 21 hours after the earthquake struck.

Rescuers had been deployed to the area where the boat, called Southern Cross and owned by Mr Scurrah's company Sumatran Surfaris, went missing as it was confirmed at least two people had been killed on Sipora Island, about 50km from where the Southern Cross was believed to be.

"Two dead bodies have been found in Sipora Island. Several people are still missing in Bosua village and we are searching for them," Health Ministry Crisis Centre head Mudjiharto said.

Waves up to 3m high had hit South Pagai Island. "Eighty per cent of buildings in Muntei village have been damaged by the waves and many people are missing there," he said.

Medical personnel were on their way to the hardest-hit areas.

Surfaid's Mentawa Islands Program Manager Tom Plummer said the boat was believed to have been close to the quake's epicentre.

Following the 2005 tsunami, Mr Scurrah, formerly of Melbourne, helped lead a team of Australian volunteers, charity workers and surfers caring for those affected.

Last night, Chris Scurrah's father, Hal Scurrah, said he hoped to have contact with his son soon. "My feeling is that he's possibly out of range, and hopefully he's all well," he said. "I keep watching news, and I keep trying to text him or contact him on Facebook. He'll have a laptop with him."

Mr Plummer said he was also hearing reports of tsunami damage to local villages but casualty numbers were unclear.

SurfAid founder Dave Jenkins said there had been a "significant tsunami" on the west of the archipelago's southernmost islands.

"We have unconfirmed reports of people being swept away and missing," Dr Jenkins said. "There's definitely been damage."

He said SurfAid was trying to charter a plane to search the area for the missing boat.

The hardest hit villages are believed to be Malakopak and Sinakak on the island of South Pagai, local Disaster Management Office Chief Joskamtir said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of a number of Australians currently in the Mentawai area.

"The Australian Embassy in Jakarta has confirmed with local authorities and tourist operators in the affected area that they are not aware of any reports to indicate that Australians have been injured as a result of the earthquake," it said.

Another nine Australians, who were among a group of surfers on another charter boat, were forced to jump from their boat when a 3m-high wave forced another boat into their craft, causing an explosion. Some of the surfers were swept inland by the wave and sheltered in high trees until they were able to be rescued by another boat.

source: news.com.au