Operation Sumatra Assist was the Australian Defence Force

Australian Defence Force

The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...

's (ADFs) contribution to disaster relief in Indonesia following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, 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 Aceh

Aceh

Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...

 province of Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. Army medical staff were prominent, with Air Force helicopters and cargo aircraft, supported offshore by HMAS Kanimbla

HMAS Kanimbla (L-51)

HMAS 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 helicopters

Westland Sea King

The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-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 Nias

Nias

Nīas 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 Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra 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 at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

 in Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 during the humanitarian efforts in the aftermath of the 2005 Sumatra earthquake

2005 Sumatra earthquake

The 2005 Sumatra earthquake, referred to as the Nias Earthquake by the scientific community, was a major earthquake on 28 March 2005, located off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Approximately 1300 people were killed by the earthquake, mostly on the island of Nias...

. 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.

External links

• Australian Department of Defence Operation Sumatra Assist