A lack of earth-moving gear on the isolated Indonesian islands closest to the epicenter of this week's massive earthquake means that many may perish trapped beneath the rubble, officials said yesterday.

Agus Mendrofa, deputy district chief of Nias, one of the Sumatra coast islands worst affected by Monday's 8.7-magnitude quake, said the death toll there was expected to reach at least 500 as rescuers struggled.

"People are vying with each other, demanding that their houses be worked on first, because they say they still have relatives there," Mendrofa told Jakarta's Elshinta radio.

Indonesian Red Cross officials say they estimate the total death toll from the disaster, which comes three months after a giant quake and tsunami left 220,000 Indonesian dead and missing, could be as high as 1,000.

Australia and Malaysia are sending C-130 transport planes loaded with equipment to help with the rescue effort, but with the main airport in Nias knocked out of commission, there was no way of landing the aircraft.

Instead, the United Nations (UN) has set up a hub in the Sumatra port city of Sibolga, and will use Chinook heavy-lifting helicopters to ferry machinery and supplies to the island.

But, according to Michele Lipner of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which is overseeing operations, bad weather meant much of the gear would be grounded.

"Right now the weather is terrible, at this moment we cannot get onto Nias, everyone is on standby," she said. "We have sea transport, but obviously that will take some time to reach the island."

On the neighbouring island of Simeulue, there was also a shortage of earth-moving gear, although casualties on the island were believed to be far fewer than those on Nias, with 17 confirmed dead.

"There are still victims in Sinabang who have not yet been evacuated because of the shortage in heavy machineries," Simeulue's district chief Damili said by telephone. "We still have no information from some villages".

He said the island's airport was also damaged beyond use, while, as on Nias, there were shortages of food, accommodation and medical supplies.

He said up to 50,000 people were camping outside, with those left homeless by the disaster joined by thousands too afraid to return to their houses, fearing a subsequent quake.

The UN's Lipner said teams would be bringing in medicines and tents to both islands as soon as possible, but Nias would take top priority.

(China Daily March 31, 2005)