Transportation difficulty hampers aid distribution in Mentawai

Piling up: Workers loading down logistic aid at Bungus Port in West Sumatra, waiting to be transported to Sikakap base in Mentawai. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

Transportation difficulty has hampered distribution of logistic aid to Pagai Selatan and Pagai Utara islands in Mentawai, West Sumatra, which were hit by earthquake-triggered tsunami on Monday.

The aid is currently stored at the Mentawai Natural Disaster Mitigation Agency's coordinating unit (Satkorlak) base in Sikakap.

“We are very confused on how to deliver the aid. We have the logistics aid and hundreds of volunteers who are ready to lend their hands to the disaster sites. But we can’t transport them,” agency officer Masrizal said Thursday at Siberut port as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

He said that he had a boat, which was being used to distribute aid to several hamlets on Pagai Utara Island.