An Indonesian woman sits in front of her earthquake-damaged house on Indonesia's Simeulue island. (Reuters)

CAIRO, March 31, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – As strong aftershocks rattled the mostly Roman Catholic Nias island on Thursday, March 31, Muslims were leaving no stone unturned in helping their Christian compatriots.

Farid Mushaf risked his life pulling out a dead Christian neighbour from the rubble of his shop, reported The Star Online quoting the Associated Press.

The 56-year-old Muslim then put his neighbour body onto the back of his truck and took it to the Santa Maria cathedral, which is being used as a morgue by Christians.

“On this island, we are humans first,” said Mushaf, sitting outside a green-domed mosque that was flattened by the quake.

“There are no differences.”

A massive quake, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, struck several Indonesian islands late Monday, March 28.

As many as 2,000 people are feared to have died and many more are believed trapped under the rubble. A UN statement said some 500 were confirmed killed.

Aid Trickles

Meanwhile, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono toured Nias as aid trickles in for the quake victims, said the Jakarta Post.

Two days after the quake, rescue work and the evacuation of victims was moving slowly mainly due to a lack of heavy equipment and volunteers.

The damage done to the island's infrastructure is also slowing aid delivery.

There are reports of looting by hungry survivors, and local aid workers say thousands of people need medical care.

In Jakarta, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the evacuation of all victims would be completed within a week, adding that heavy equipment such as bulldozers, excavators and trucks were on the way to the affected areas.

He lauded aid offers from Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the US, saying there were no political motives behind the humanitarian assistance.

The US said Wednesday, March 30, it has dispatched two ships to the area to deliver supplies and medical care.

Australia, Japan and Singapore have also sent military aircraft filled with relief supplies, equipment and personnel.

Survivors

Although hundreds of powerful aftershocks are making the search for victims more difficult, rescuers were able to save two teenagers after being trapped for more than 50 hours after the massive earthquake.

A group of 11 tourists were also spotted by a search helicopter Thursday, after being stranded for days.

The tourists - three Britons, two Canadians, two Swedes, two French, one American and a German - were found near a popular spot for surfers, where they had been stuck since Monday.

A man was also found alive after being trapped for 33 hours in the ruins of a hotel.