KRI Kalakay Brings Presidential Aid to Wasior

SURABAYA, KOMPAS.com - Navy warship KRI Kalakay is carrying at least six tons of basic needs from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Wasior in the district of Teluk Wondama in West Papua recently hit by flash floods. The ship from the Eastern Fleet Command left Manokwari on Friday night and it is expected the aid would have been able to be distributed Saturday evening.

"The aid has to be sent by sea as the Wasior airstrip is not functioning normally due to the disaster," Eastern Fleet Command spokesman Lt. Col. Yayan Sugiana said here Saturaday.      The aid from the President was sent by plane from Jakarta to Manokwari and it was then shipped by KRI Kalakay from Manokwari to Wasior. The aid includes clothes for children and adults, blankets, instant noodle, biscuits, canned fish, milk and rice.

"Actually the aid totals 30 tons but Kalakay could only take six tons," Yayan said.      The rest 22 tons are still kept at the warehouse waiting to be taken later by KRI Kalakay after returning from Wasior. He said the Eastern Fleet Command had recieved information from Jakarta that two tons of aid still had yet to be sent to Manokwari.

The Command has also sent three other warships to help overcome the impact of the disaster namely KRI Teluk Ende-517, KRI Fatahilah-361 and KRI dr Soeharto-990. KRI dr Soeharto is serving as a floating hospital and has had much experience in carrying out humanitarian missions in a number of places in the country.      KRI Teluk Ende is a landing ship tank type used to carry personnel, aid supplies and other heavy equipment to help post-disaster recovery efforts. KRI dr Soeharso is now preparing to leave the Eastern Fleet Command base while KRI Teluk Ende and KRI Fatahilah have been in the Indonesian eastern region’ waters.  Some 124 have been killed, 185 serious injured in the disaster while hundreds more are still missing.