Operation Sumatra Assist was the
Australian Defence ForceThe Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units....
's (ADFs) contribution to disaster relief in Indonesia following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. ADF personnel were deployed within hours of the earthquake. They served mainly in
AcehAceh is a special territory of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Nanggröe Aceh Darussalam. Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin.It is thought to have been in Aceh where Islam was first established in Southeast Asia...
province of
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Army medical staff were prominent, with Air Force helicopters and cargo aircraft, supported offshore by
HMAS KanimblaHMAS Kanimbla is the lead ship of the Kanimbla class Landing Platform Amphibious. Laid down in 1969 for the United States Navy as Newport class tank landing ship USS Saginaw, the ship was acquired by the Royal Australian Navy in 1994 for conversion into a amphibious warfare transport ship.Since...
and its two
Sea King helicoptersThe Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British license-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines, British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
.
At about 0930UTC 2 April 2005, Sea King helicopter Shark 02 crashed on the island of
NiasNīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....
off the west coast of
SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit...
in
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
during the humanitarian efforts in the aftermath of the 2005 Sumatran earthquake.
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Operation Sumatra Assist was the
Australian Defence ForceThe Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army, the Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units....
's (ADFs) contribution to disaster relief in Indonesia following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. ADF personnel were deployed within hours of the earthquake. They served mainly in
AcehAceh is a special territory of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Nanggröe Aceh Darussalam. Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin.It is thought to have been in Aceh where Islam was first established in Southeast Asia...
province of
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Army medical staff were prominent, with Air Force helicopters and cargo aircraft, supported offshore by
HMAS KanimblaHMAS Kanimbla is the lead ship of the Kanimbla class Landing Platform Amphibious. Laid down in 1969 for the United States Navy as Newport class tank landing ship USS Saginaw, the ship was acquired by the Royal Australian Navy in 1994 for conversion into a amphibious warfare transport ship.Since...
and its two
Sea King helicoptersThe Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British license-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines, British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
.
Phase 2
At about 0930UTC 2 April 2005, Sea King helicopter Shark 02 crashed on the island of
NiasNīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....
off the west coast of
SumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world .-Etymology:Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit...
in
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
during the humanitarian efforts in the aftermath of the 2005 Sumatran earthquake. Nine Australian Defence Force personnel were killed (seven men and two women); reports say there were 6 Navy and 3 Air Force personnel. Two others were recovered alive from the site by the other Sea King operating from HMAS Kanimbla and transferred to it for medical assistance in its hospital facilities.
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