An Australian air force transport plane carrying 15 burned survivors of the Bali nightclub bombing arrived in Darwin early this morning as part of a major evacuation following the attack, officials said.
Nine ambulances and an ambulance bus were on hand to take the victims from the airfield to the Royal Darwin Hospital, a 10-minute drive away.
A second aircraft was expected to arrive in Darwin with 30 more survivors.
Australian Prime Minister Mr John Howard said last night that the response to the bomb attack would be measured.
He said the bombings show terrorism can touch "anyone, anywhere, anytime".
"This is on our doorstep affecting our own people in a brutal unforgivable, indiscriminate fashion," he said.
Mr Howard spoke to Indonesian President Mr Megawati Sukarnoputri by telephone yesterday and says authorities from both countries are convinced the bombings were acts of terrorism.
"This wicked and cowardly attack, clearly on the evidence available to us, is an act of terrorism that can have no justification," Mr Howard said.
"I can only say again that the war against terrorism must go on with unrelenting vigour and with an unconditional commitment."
Most of the bodies retrieved from the nightclubs have been taken to the Sanga Hospital, near the Balinese capital of Denpasar.
But it soon became clear the hospital was ill-equipped to deal with the huge number of casualties. Bodies were simply piled along the corridors as officials try to begin the task of identification.
Australians familiar with the island's health system fear many who suffered burns in the blasts could die because the hospitals do not have enough painkillers, scalpels, gloves or blood to give them proper treatment.
Mr Howard said last night he did not have an exact number of Australian victims but warned there are likely to be many among the dead and wounded because of Bali's popularity among young Australians.
"There are many Australians unaccounted for and we must therefore prepare ourselves as a nation for the possibility of a significant number of Australian deaths," he said.
A Royal Australian Air Force medical team and two other military aircraft arrived in Bali last night to assist the injured Australians and bring some to Darwin, the closest Australian city.
One of the aircraft carried a team of Australian Federal Police to Bali to help in the investigation.
The Australian government says it is now reviewing security arrangements at all its embassies.
All flights into Bali from Australia have been cancelled, while Qantas has increased the number of flights out of the tourist destination.
Australians are being advised not to travel to the area.
Bombs also went off outside the US Honorary Consulate on Bali and the Philippine Consulate general office on the Indonesian mainland on Saturday night, but caused no casualties. - (Additional reporting AFP)