British troops to leave tsunami zone

British troops will pull out of Indonesia’s tsunami devastated Aceh region on Sunday, a move indicating the relief operation’s emergency phase is ending.

Workers trudging through debris in Aceh are still pulling hundreds of bodies from the rubble every day, and the aid organisations said that was not expected to change soon.

Indonesia added 1,414 bodies to its death toll today alone.

After initially saying the retrieval of bodies would likely be complete by June, the Red Cross now says several more months might be needed, agency spokeswoman Yrsa Grune said.

“It might be that plan will have to be revised,” she said. “It’s inevitable. Every time you lift a stone you might find something under it because there’s still lots of rubble.”

The magnitude-9.0 quake under the Indian Ocean on December 26 and the tsunami it spawned killed more than 164,000 people in 11 nations – with most of the victims in Aceh. Tens of thousands of people are still missing, though officials say it’s too early to add them to the death toll.

On Friday, Indonesia revised its number of missing for the first time in two weeks, saying nearly 13,000 of the previously unaccounted for have now been confirmed dead, found to be living in refugee camps or have left Aceh. The missing tally stood at 114,922 – down from 127,774.

British forces have been in Aceh since January 2 and include the Army Air Corps which flew more than 200 helicopter missions, delivering 244,000 pound of food. THE RAF made 11 deliveries, carrying as much as 177,000 pounds of aid and equipment per flight.

“I am delighted with the contribution that British military personnel have made to the relief effort,” said Charles Humfrey, British ambassador to Indonesia,.

A Royal Navy vessel, HMS Scott, remains in Indonesian waters where a team of British scientists and Indonesian naval officers were conducting a detailed survey of the ocean floor near the earthquake’s epicentre off the coast of Sumatra Island. The ship is scheduled to depart on February 15.