Indonesia helicopters drop relief in flood-hit areas

JAKARTA, July 27 (Reuters) Indonesian helicopters today dropped food and other relief supplies to thousands of people stranded on Sulawesi island by floods and landslides.

Bad weather had hampered relief operations in the remote area where about 85 people have died and nearly 8,000 people displaced from their homes submerged by landslides and floods up to three metres (10 ft) deep.

''We have sent 20 tonnes of medicines and food that can last for the next three days. We dropped the aid from helicopters,'' Sutrisno, head of emergency aid at the national disaster relief coordination agency, told Reuters.

''The weather is better today. But some roads are damaged hampering the transportation of heavy machinery. So far, people have evacuated the victims.'' Another relief official said authorities had not been able to pull out many bodies because of a lack of heavy machinery and equipment.

Syamsul Ma'arif, head of the disaster relief coordination agency, said air and sea transportation was able to reach people in remote areas because the weather was good, but they still needed fuel.

Landslides occur frequently in Indonesia, where tropical downpours can quickly soak hillsides stripped of trees.

Central Sulawesi is also one of Indonesia's key cocoa growing areas. The Southeast Asian country is the world's third largest producer of cocoa beans.

REUTERS AE KN1213