ASIA: RAAF to fly surgical team for Nias to meet Kanimbla

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2005
ASIA: RAAF to fly surgical team for Nias to meet Kanimbla

A team of Australian airborne military doctors will today fly to the Indonesian island
of Sabang to rendezvous with the warship HMAS Kanimbla on its mercy mission to quake-devastated
Nias and Simeulue islands.

A 60-strong parachute surgical team and their equipment will be flown to Sabang from
Jakarta at dawn on two C-130 Hercules transports in time to meet the Kanimbla as it passes
on its way to west Sumatra from Singapore.

Australian defence attache Brigadier KEN BROWNRIGG says there is only a short window
of opportunity for the team to meet up with the ship.

Brigadier BROWNRIGG says if they can get them on board, then the Kanimbla will arrive
on Saturday with a surgical capability ready to go.

The team, which arrived in Jakarta last night on an RAAF 707, are specialist medics
trained to go into battle alongside Australia's elite parachute brigade soldiers.

Their mission in Sumatra will be to staff a field hospital and surgical wards on board
the Kanimbla, caring for earthquake survivors.

AAP RTV rft/cdh/it/psm/

KEYWORD: QUAKE INDON AUST (JAKARTA)

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