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1,291 tourists evacuated from Gili islets arrive in Bali
More than 1,000 tourists, mostly foreign nationals, have been evacuated from the Gili islets to Benoa Bay in Bali.
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Evacuees hug each other upon arriving at Benoa Port in Bali early on Tuesday. At least 1,291 tourists have been evacuated from the Gili islets off the northwest coast of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara to Bali after a 7-magnitude earthquake jolted Lombok on Sunday evening. (JP/Zul Trio Anggono)
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ore than 1,290 tourists, mostly foreign nationals, who evacuated from three popular islets off the northwest coast of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) – Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno – have been arriving at Benoa Bay in neighboring Bali from Monday evening through Tuesday morning.
The Gili islets have reportedly been experiencing an electricity blackout and lack of clean water since a 7-magnitude earthquake struck Lombok on Sunday evening. Some tourists were injured during the earthquake and require medical treatment.
Five private vessels and one dispatched by state-owned shipping operator PT Pelni have been transporting tourists on the islets to Bali and the main island of Lombok.
“Some of them have been transported from the Gilis to Lombok, but they got stuck there. It was a bit difficult for them to get food or passage [to Bali], so we decided to transport [them] here,” Benoa Port authority chief Dwiyanto said in Bali on Tuesday.
Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) chairman Ketut Ardana said SITA had provided free transportation to help the evacuees arrive at their next destinations.
“We’ve also offered a 50 percent discount for accommodations for at least one night,” he added.
The Bali Tourism Agency also provided free transportation to different tourist spots, such as Kuta, Seminyak, Canggu and Ubud. (swd)
