Last injured Aussies leave Bali 14oct02
NEARLY all the Australians injured in the Bali bomb blasts have been evacuated from the island's hospitals, Australia's Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia has said.
Neil Mules said an RAAF Hercules aircraft was on the ground in Bali to take the last of the injured Australians back home.
At least 13 Australians were among the more than 180 people killed when bomb blasts ripped through a bar and nightclub in the Kuta Beach area on Saturday night.
Mr Mules said little information was available about the identities of those killed.
The injured Australians were now on their way home, he said.
"We have now evacuated from the hospitals here now probably all of the Australians who were in hospital," he told Channel 9's Today show.
"We have an RAAF Hercules on the ground in Bali which I think will load up with the remaining Australian serious injuries and there should be very few or no Australians in hospital here."
CareFlight spokesman Ian Badham said 17 Australian patients had arrived in Sydney on a Qantas flight this morning.
About half of the patients had burns, ranging from superficial to serious, while one woman had a fractured skull, Mr Badham said.
The others had cuts and bruises.
Mr Badham said the injured had been accompanied on the flight by a CareFlight trauma doctor and paramedic who had stabilised patients for the flight home.
A fleet of NSW ambulances was waiting at the airport to ferry the injured to several Sydney hospitals, including the specialist burns unit at Concord Hospital.
Injured New Zealanders and Canadians also were being evacuated from Bali with the help of the Australian embassy, Mr Mules said.
Supplies are also being flown in to Bali hospitals still struggling with the injured.