The "heartbreaking" deaths of nine Australian defense personnel in a helicopter crash will not stop the military's mercy mission to earthquake-hit areas of Indonesia, Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday.
Howard said he was devastated at the deaths, which occurred when a Sea King helicopter from the navy supply ship HMAS Kanimbla crashed Saturday as it came down to land at Aman Draya village on the island of Nias off the Sumatran coast.
He said the accident would not disrupt Australian aid efforts because the need for help in Indonesia remained acute.
"The mission of mercy, the mission of help in Indonesia will go on," Howard told reporters.
"Its important that Australia continue to carry out its humanitarian role in Indonesia. I know that is what the men and women on the Kanimbla would want to occur."
Howard said the tragedy was heightened by the fact that the Kanimbla had been heading home after helping aid efforts in Sumatra's tsunami-hit Aceh when it was ordered to steam back to Indonesia after last week's earthquake.
"These young Australians were on a mission of mercy and compassion, they were helping the poor people of the island of Nias in the wake of the latest earthquake there," Howard said. "This is really quite heartbreaking."
The helicopter was carrying 11 military personnel, including the air crew and a navy medical team, when it crashed.
The dead included seven men and two women.
Australian Defence Force chief Peter Cosgrove said two men survived and were being treated for fractures aboard the Kanimbla.
Cosgrove said an investigation had been launched into the crash, which occurred in clear weather on a football pitch that appeared free of any potentially hazardous obstacles.
"My early indications are that the weather shouldn't have been a factor," he told reporters.
The helicopter had been preparing to ferry injured Nias islanders onto the Kanimbla for hospital treatment on the ship.
A second Sea King from the Kanimbla flew over the crash site and saw the chopper in flames, Cosgrove said.
Howard said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is scheduled to arrive in Australia on an official visit late Sunday, phoned him Sunday morning to express his condolences.
Kanimbla Captain George McGuire said his grief-stricken crew were determined to continue their mission.
"I think our friends who died ... it would be disrespectful to them if we don't complete our mission," McGuire told the crew. "A couple of our friends are missing. We owe it to their memory to continue with our job."
Howard said the bodies of the dead would be flown to Australia this week, tomorrow at the earliest.
The crash was the deadliest involving the Australian military since 18 servicemen died when two Black Hawk helicopters collided during a training exercise in Queensland state in June 1996.
Australia, a major aid provider to Indonesia following the Dec. 26 quake and tsunami, was among the first countries to send help after the latest quake disaster.
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