All Aussies accounted for in Bali

October 3, 2005 - 11:17AM

All Australians are believed to be accounted for in Bali following the deadly blasts across the resort island, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Bruce Bilson said today.

Mr Bilson confirmed two Australians had been identified as among the 26 people killed in the blasts while another two were feared dead.

More than 120 people were injured in the near simultaneous blasts in restaurants in bustling Kuta and on the seafront at popular Jimbaran Bay.

The Australians identified as killed include 16-year-old Brendan Fitzgerald, from Busselton in Western Australia, and 48-year-old Jennifer Williamson, a mother from Newcastle in NSW.

In addition to the two Australians named, the government believes a Newcastle couple — Fiona and Colin Zwolinski, a mining company executive — are also among the dead.

"I would anticipate for there to be four Australian fatalities," Mr Bilson told ABC radio in Melbourne.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has altered its travel advice last night, warning that Australians in Bali should exercise extreme caution and remain in their hotels if possible.

Qantas has put on three relief flights to help people leave Bali. Two of the flights left yesterday, while the third departed from Sydney this morning and is expected to return at 9.20 tonight.

Confirming identities

Mr Bilson said disaster victim identification experts from the federal police were working with Indonesian authorities to confirm the identities of two bodies believed to be those of Australians.

At this stage we believe they are (all accounted for) bar the two (where) the identity issues remain unresolved," Mr Bilson said.

"At this stage, two are quite seriously injured but are receiving the medical care that should provide the support that they need.

"There's been a number of flights out of Bali, some to Indonesia and also a number to Darwin carrying both injured Australians and injured Indonesian and Japanese tourists as well.

"All Australians that were injured have now been evacuated. Two that were previously hospitalised have now been released and that's encouraging news."

Mr Bilson said the department of foreign affairs had received about 3,500 telephone calls from Australians trying to establish the welfare and location of loved ones.
This map shows where the attacks took place.

This map shows where the attacks took place.

He said the bombings came as the number of Australians travelling to Bali reached record levels.

Suicide bomber

Senior counter-terrorism officials claimed a suicide bomber ignited each of the three blasts on Saturday night, but intelligence sources said two bombs were buried and detonated underneath tables on Jimbaran beach.

Investigators have seized an Australian tourist's video of a dinner party on the beach, which features vision of a black-shirted figure running towards the site of the blast shortly before the explosion.

Prime Minister John Howard said the Bali bombers were cowards who had shown blind hatred and indifference towards their victims. He said Australia would help catch those responsible.

Two of 21 injured Australians were flown to Singapore yesterday, and Australian officials were trying to evacuate more of the seriously injured last night. In total 105 people have been admitted to hospital in Bali.

The blasts have rocked Bali and alarmed Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who inspected the blast sites on Jimbaran beach and Kuta Square yesterday and vowed to catch the culprits. He said investigations indicated that the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.

JI modus operandi

The director of counter-terrorism for Indonesia's National Security Ministry, Major-General Ansyaad Mbai, said the three attackers entered the packed restaurants wearing explosive vests. The remains of their bodies were found at the scenes, he said.

"I have seen them. All that is left is their head and feet," he said. "By the evidence we can conclude the bombers were carrying the explosives around their waists."

General Mbai claimed the two most-wanted Jemaah Islamiah operatives in South-East Asia, Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Top, were behind the attacks.

"The modus operandi of Saturday's attacks is the same as earlier ones," he said.

Dr Yudhoyono revealed that specific intelligence from the Philippines had led him to warn a month ago of an imminent terrorist strike, although Mr Howard and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said there was no warning that the attacks were coming.

The bombs detonated almost simultaneously in the early evening, with two exploded at seafood restaurants the Nyoman Cafe and the Menega, along Jimbaran Beach about 7.40pm, just as tourists were settling down for dinner. Soon after, a blast in the Raja restaurant in Kuta Square gutted the whole of the ground floor and much of the first floor.

Hospital officials said the Australian dead included a 16-year-old boy from Western Australia, Brendan Fitzgerald, and 48-year-old Newcastle woman Jennifer Williamson.

A family spokesman said the boy's 43-year-old father, Terry, was in a critical condition at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar, and his 13-year-old sister, Jessica, was in a serious but stable condition.

The attacks come nearly three years after militants linked to al-Qaeda bombed two nightclubs in Bali, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.

- AAP with Mark Forbes

Taken from The Age