Last evacuation flight from Thailand arrives in Helsinki

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The airlift of Finnish travellers from the Thai tourist resorts affected by the recent earthwquake-driven giant waveswas concluded on Sunday, when the last remaining tourists, as well as a group of aid workers and tour guides, arrived in Helsinki on a special flight early Sunday evening.
      They were met by concerned family members and friends, as well as a group of crisis counsellors of the Finnish Lutheran Church.
      The tour guides, who had worked for more than a week in the aftermath of the tsunami, were immediately given counselling.
     
Aid workers of the Finnish Red Cross said upon their return that it is very unlikely that any more Finns will be found alive in Thailand.
      Officials say that the repatriation of the bodies of Finns who had died could begin in a few days. Thai officials say that the bodies of 13 Finns have been found. The remains of all Finnish victims are to be brought home, but the process of identifying the bodies could take some time.
      The Red Cross warns people against travelling to the area to search for loved ones, or for any other purpose, because of the risk of communicable disease.
      About 100 Finnish travellers opted to remain in the disaster area in Thailand, some of whom are looking for loved ones. Others are backpackers continuing their travels.
     
One of the patients brought back to Finland in a passenger aircraft converted into a flying hospital died of his injuries at Töölö Hospital in Helsinki on Saturday evening. The middle-aged man had sustained serious brain injuries, and was on a respirator throughout the whole flight.
      Another seriously injured patient brought back on the same flight is not expected to make a full recovery.
      On Sunday 22 victims of the disaster were being treated at Töölö Hospital.
      Emotions among patients and their relatives ranged from shock to deep sorrow, but there was also gratitude for having survived the ordeal.
     
One of the passengers on the last evacuation flight was Red Cross worker Hannele Kankuri, who had flown out to Phuket on Wednesday to do mainly administrative work.
      "At the same time I saw to it that people would stay sane, and that they would not forget to eat and sleep."
      She said that people were generally relieved to get out of the disaster area, but that many remained in shock.
      Kankuri feels that considering the circumstances, the Finnish Red Cross was quite successful in its work, and that cooperation with the Finnish Foreign Ministry, the airline Finnair, tour operators, and insurance companies functioned well.
     
"The psychological crisis that results from this will continue in Finland, and will require special attention in the coming days, weeks, and months, and probably years", said Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) at a press conference at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport soon after the plane arrived.
      Also meeting the last evacuation plane were Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) and Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paula Lehtomäki (Centre).
      Lehtomäki said that the government has earmarked EUR about 4.5 million in funding for aid for the victims of the crisis. She also said that this might be increased once there is more information on the most urgent needs. More than 600 Finnish volunteers have been helping deal with the crisis.
      The disaster has also brought a flood of donations from private citizens to the Finnish Red Cross and other organisations providing relief to the region. By Sunday evening, nearly EUR 5.9 million had been collected.
      There have been some attempts to make money dishonestly by impersonating Red Cross fund raisers. The Finnish Red Cross notes that all of its volunteers wear an official vest and collect money in special containers with an official stamp on it. The Finnish Red Cross also emphasises that it does not solicit donations by telephone.
     
The latest figures on the police list of missing persons indicate that 186 Finnish citizens are still unaccounted for. The search continues on site, but it is not expected that the numbers will change materially. The assumption must be that a great many of the missing will have perished. This means that the catastrophe in Southern Asia is also likely to be the largest single peacetime loss of Finnish lives in the last century.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  UPDATED SATURDAY 1.1. Police post revised list of missing persons: 193 Finns still unaccounted for in Thailand (1.1.2005)
  Police publish names of missing Finns; upwards of 260 now feared dead in Thailand (31.12.2004)

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