SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian rescue and medical teams have reached Vanuatu, authorities said on Thursday, where at least 14 people including a French national were killed and hundreds were injured in a 7.3 magnitude earthquake two days ago.
France’s Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer on Thursday confirmed the death of a French national, Vincent Goiset, a resident in Vanuatu who was killed under the rubble of a collapsed building in the city centre, he said in a Facebook post.
Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office said in a report the number of deaths and injuries was expected to increase, as search and rescue continues in collapsed buildings.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia would help Vanuatu restore operations at the international airport in the nation’s capital of Port Vila, which has been closed to commercial airlines because of damage.
“Additional assistance will be provided where possible, ahead of the airport reopening,” Wong said in a post on X.
About 150 Australian citizens returned home overnight on the two aircraft that delivered assistance, Wong said.
Other countries have also offered support, with a U.S. military aircraft expected to arrive on Thursday, while France sent a military helicopter with satellite communications and military engineers.
A New Zealand rescue team’s arrival has been delayed until Thursday after their military flight had to be diverted on Wednesday evening to New Caledonia due to an engine fire warning, New Zealand media reported.
The New Zealand defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Disruptions to power and communication in Vanuatu are hindering rescue efforts, while UNICEF has said water contamination was a major concern.
Australian Carissa Jacobe, who runs a business in Vanuatu, said she had been using her generator for power but water supply was restored at her home on Thursday morning.
“Our main supermarket, there’s word that they may open today but some stores are trying to open even though everything is still on the floor,” Jacobe told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“But people are just going in to grab whatever they can, just for survival mode.”
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham and Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lincoln Feast.)
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