100 Aussies missing in quake region
October 02, 2009 
Indonesian search and rescue team members evacuate quake survivor John Lee after he was trapped for two days in the rubble of Maryani International hotel in the Padang quake.
An Australian urban search and rescue team and 10 defence force engineers are heading to Indonesia as authorities express fears that thousands may have died following Wednesday's massive earthquake.
Around 100 Australians are unaccounted for. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says while he's concerned for their welfare it's likely they're uninjured but yet to contact officials.
The 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings and led to fires in Padang, home to nearly a million people on the coast of Sumatra, leaving the city largely without power and communications.
Mr Smith says Australia is responding to a request for help from Indonesia's president.
"Today an urban search and rescue team will leave Australia to assist on the search and rescue mission in Padang," Mr Smith told ABC TV.
"We're also sending a defence force engineering assessment team which will be able to give assistance on some of the difficult engineering aspects of searching buildings that have been damaged by the earthquake."
The urban search and rescue team comprises 44.
Both teams will fly out on Friday morning to Jakarta. They'll likely arriving in Padang on Saturday.
Mr Smith said Australia was making a "significant contribution".
"The scale of this disaster is only now becoming apparent," he said.
"We're worried we'll see deaths not in the hundreds but over a 1,000."
The Rudd government already has a small team of officials on the ground in Padang trying to track down affected Australians.
Humanitarian aid already in Indonesia - including blankets, tents, tarpaulins, water contamination tablets - is now being distributed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade believes around 250 Australians are in the general area. Around 100 are still unaccounted for.
"We've made contact with nearly 140 so at this stage we've potentially got just over 100 Australians who may be in the area with whom we haven't been able to make contact," Mr Smith said.
"But at this stage we've got no evidence which would indicate that we've got any Australians who are killed or injured.
"But we're just worried to ensure that we track down all the Australians who may have been in the area.
"I'm always concerned when we've got potentially 100 Australians whose whereabouts we can't vouchsafe for."
Australia's embassy in Jakarta hasn't been able to make contact with four of the 13 Australians who were registered in the Padang area "owing to poor communications".
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