Girl found in pond identified by police

THE BRITISH Government was last night sending consular staff to the earthquake-shattered island of Lombok, as hundreds of tourists continued their agonising wait for rescue.

A magnitude 7.0 quake wreaked havoc across Indonesian islands, including Lombok, the Gili archipelago and neighbouring Bali on Sunday.

At least 91 people were killed as houses were flattened and bridges toppled, authorities said yesterday, but none are believed to be foreign nationals.

The Foreign Office said staff were being sent to Lombok from the consulate in Bali, and the embassy in capital Jakarta, to assist stranded British tourists caught up in the chaos.

Extra flights were also added to help holidaymakers who wanted to leave the islands, a spokesman said.

The quake also triggered a tsunami warning, which led to scenes of panic and later a rush to the coast by those desperate for rescue.

Young families and couples on their honeymoon were among those caught up in the mayhem.

Helen Brady, 29, a writer from Manchester, said she and her boyfriend James Kelsall, 28, narrowly escaped death after the earthquake on Gili Trawangan brought buildings crashing down.

She said: “All the lights went out and most buildings (were) demolished. “If we’d have been one minute slower we’d have been dead, or at the very least severely injured.”

Also affected were celebrities including Take That singer Gary Barlow and model Chrissy Teigen. Barlow wrote on Twitter that he had been involved in seven earthquakes, but “none have felt more deep and raw” as Sunday’s in Bali.

Teigen was travelling with singer husband John Legend and their two children when the shock struck.

Thousands fled to higher ground amid fears a tsunami would surge in following the quake.

Power had still not been restored to the island by yesterday morning after the disaster, it was reported.

And tourists flocking to the coast in search of rescue were confronted by mayhem, as footage yesterday showed crowds scrambling aboard a boat in a frenzied bid to escape.

Ash Flay, whose sister Katy Flay was stuck on Gili Trawangan with her partner, said the rescue effort had been a “disgrace” and authorities were demanding money from tourists.

A family-of-four from Henleyon-Thames in Oxfordshire was among scores of others stranded on the island.

The group included two children, aged five and seven, according to a relative, who asked to keep their identities anonymous.

“The kids are quite traumatised, I’ve spoken to my daughter and she’s clearly very frightened and very scared – frankly they just want to come home,” he said.

It comes after Lombok was rocked by a series of similar quakes on July 29.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: “We are working with the Indonesian authorities to provide assistance to British people caught up in the earthquake in Lombok and the Gili islands.

“FCO consular staff are deploying to Lombok to provide assistance to those who need it.”

They said Bali and Lombok airports were open and running a full service yesterday, and extra flights were being added. Those travelling to the area are urged to check the latest FCO advice.

A teenage girl whose body was recovered from a pond has been formally identified.

Teya Davies, 14, was found by police in the stretch of water in Widnes, on Saturday after a search was launched following fears she may have fallen in.

Yesterday her family released a photo of her through Cheshire Police. A fundraising page raised more than £4,000 for her family.

The page’s creator Michelle Spilling said: “Our girls are heartbroken so can only imagine what her family are going through.”