Aid flight arrives in Tonga; phone lines partially restored

Tongan Foreign Minister Fekitamoeloa 'Utoikamanu (right) is accompanied by Australian High Commissioner to Tonga Rachael Moore as they receive a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft delivering Australian aid at Fua?amotu International Airport on January 20, 2022 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Photo:VCG

 The first aircraft carrying humanitarian supplies arrived in Tonga on Thursday, five days after the South Pacific island nation was hit by a volcanic eruption and tsunami that devastated communities and spoiled most of its drinking water.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules landed in Tonga's Fua'amotu International Airport, a defense spokesperson said, after a blanket of volcanic ash was cleared off the runway.

An Australian Globemaster military transport aircraft also landed.

"The C-17A flight today was made possible thanks to the tireless efforts of Tongan authorities who have worked to clear a thick layer of volcanic ash from the runway," Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said in a statement.

Dutton said the aircraft was loaded with supplies including water desalination equipment, shelter, kitchens, and a sweeper to help remove ash from the airport. A second Australian aircraft was due to make the flight on Thursday.

The New Zealand aircraft was carrying humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies, including kits for temporary shelters, generators, hygiene and family kits, and communications equipment, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement.

The delivery of the supplies brought in by both aircraft was contactless to ensure Tonga remains free of the coronavirus.

The explosion of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano on Saturday killed at least three people, sent tsunami waves rolling across the archipelago, damaging villages, resorts and many buildings and knocked out communications for the nation of about 105,000 people.

Rachael Moore, Australia's high commissioner to Tonga, said the loss of property had been "catastrophic."

"Along the western beaches there is a moonscape where once beautiful resorts and many, many homes stood," Moore told Australian radio, adding that drinking water was "an extremely high priority."

Telephone links between Tonga and the outside world were reconnected late on Wednesday, though restoring full internet services was likely to take a month or more, according to the owner of the archipelago's sole subsea communications cable.