Vic: World Vision Aust chief fears for Sri Lankan workers

AAP General News (Australia)
12-28-2004
Vic: World Vision Aust chief fears for Sri Lankan workers

MELBOURNE, Dec 28 AAP - World Vision aid workers in Sri Lanka remain missing following
the tsunami disaster that swept southern Asia, World Vision Australia chief executive
Tim Costello said today.

Mr Costello, who will today fly to Sri Lanka to offer aid workers comfort and support,
said some of the 300 aid workers in Sri Lanka, mostly locals, were still missing following
the tsunami on Sunday.

"In Sri Lanka there are still staff unaccounted for," Mr Costello told ABC Radio today.

"We know there are family members who have died and, in the confusion, we're still
trying to account for all the staff."

Almost 24,000 people, including 11,000 in Sri Lanka, have died from the tsunami, which
was generated by a massive earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra
on Sunday and swept the Indian Ocean.

Huge waves swept about 7,000 km as far as Africa, crashing on to the shores of Kenya
and Somalia, affecting the islands of Mauritius, Reunion and the Seychelles on the way.

Mr Costello said his role in Sri Lanka would be to support staff working to save lives
and restore order in Sri Lanka.

"I guess (my role is) to try and really keep up morale, to try and say to our staff
that (they) haven't been forgotten, that this ... tsunami that destroys lives in seven
different nations isn't just your problem, it's our problem."

The first priority for aid workers was to provide basics such as food and fresh water,
Mr Costello said.

"The irony of a tsunami and a flood is that you'd think that people had seen enough
water but in fact now a shortage of water is the problem," he said.

"They simply can't get enough clean water and water-borne diseases really do have the
potential to almost kill as many again.

"Many areas are still inaccessible so, in the first instance, it's just stabilising
human life, getting food, getting water and getting blankets is just going to be the next
week's target.

"After a week we'll reassess and say, `well, how do we try and rebuild infrastructure
and homes and water systems?', but right at the moment it's the rawest, direct relief
to just preserve life.

AAP jrd/gfr/bes

KEYWORD: QUAKE AUST COSTELLO

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.