AUSTRALIA: The number of confirmed Australian deaths from the Bali bomb reached 30 by yesterday but could top 200 if worst fears are realised. This is because there are still 180 Australians listed as missing on Bali after the atrocity, according to the Australian government.
As with the aftermath of the September 11th atrocity in New York, numbers may fall if people listed as missing come forward.
A government spokesman said last night that 12 people had been confirmed dead at the morgue in Bali. Family and hospitals in Australia had confirmed the death of another 18. This figure includes two people who died after being flown back to Australia.
The spokesman also confirmed that 113 Australians citizens had suffered serious injuries in the attack. All of the injured have now been airlifted to Australia, lessening the hope that those still listed as missing in Bali will be found alive.
The task of bringing home the bodies of those who died in the atrocity began yesterday and will continue throughout the week.
The Australian Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, told parliament that the government had contracted an international disaster relief firm to prepare the bodies for their return to Australia.
He also said that five mobile refrigerators have been flown to Bali by the Royal Australian Air Force to preserve the remains.
"The government in this context has engaged Kenyans, a firm of international disaster morticians, to prepare the remains for repatriation. Qantas will fly them back," he said.
Mr Howard said that there will be no cost to the victims' families for the repatriation of the bodies and that the government will also pay the cost of any Australians who need to go to Bali in order to assist with identification.
There are now 46 Australian investigators, including Federal Police, secret service, search and rescue operatives and body identification specialists, in Bali to assist local authorities.
Doctors treating victims of the bombing at burns units around the nation have described the burns as among some of the worst they have ever seen.
Many people are so badly burned that it is impossible to graft skin from one part of their body to another. Surgeons are instead using synthetic skin grafts for these people.
The Australian government announced yesterday it will seek to have a group suspected of involvement in the bombings officially listed as a terrorist organisation.
Mr Howard said there was increasing evidence that an Indonesian group called Jemaah Islamiyah were involved in the attack, along with the al-Qaeda organisation.
Answering questions in parliament, the prime minister said: "We will be moving, Mr Speaker, as a government to have Jemaah Islamiyah listed as a terrorist organisation in the United Nations as soon as possible." Mr Howard also said it is likely the Islamic fundamentalist group al-Qaeda was involved in the bombings.
The Federal Attorney-General, Mr Daryl Williams, told parliament that the Australian and Indonesian governments need to work closely to track down "those responsible for this indiscriminate, unprovoked, slaughter of human life".
Opposition leader Mr Simon Crean agreed action was required from the Indonesian authorities.
"Indonesia now has to wake up squarely to the fact that it has terrorist activity in its land," he said.
The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair told the House of Commons up to 30 Britons may have died in the Bali bombing, with nine confirmed dead, eight yet to be identified and 13 still missing.