Port-Vila [Vanuatu Islands], December 19: After a powerful magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck near Vanuatu's capital earlier this week, 148 Australian citizens have been assisted back home.
Overnight, on board Royal Australian Air Force flights, the Australians returned from the humanitarian mission in Vanuatu.
Additional flight assistance will be provided by the RAAF where possible, ahead of the commercial airport reopening.
Australian aid teams also arrived in Vanuatu to assist in desperate search and rescue efforts for people believed to be trapped under flattened buildings in Port Vila.
A 64-person Disaster Assistance Response Team and two canines arrived the day after the magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck near Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila.
On top of that, a six-person Australian Medical Assistance Team is now on the ground and nine Australian Federal Police members will work alongside the Vanuatu Police Force on command and control.
The death toll has been revised from 14 to nine but is still expected to rise, according to Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation