[jason]

Aid flights arriving after Indonesia quake

The first planeloads of aid have arrived in Indonesia as rescuers comb through the rubble on the island of Nias for survivors following Easter Monday's earthquake.

Poor weather and a shortage of fuel are said to be hampering the massive relief effort.

The Foreign Office is looking into reports that a handful of Britons may be missing although it is not clear if they were caught up in the aftermath of the quake.

Up to 1,000 people are feared dead after the powerful earthquake rocked the same area devastated by the tsunami disaster in December.

The massive rescue operation is still under way after the quake, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, struck off the main island of Sumatra.

The tiny island of Nias of the coast of Sumatra bore the brunt of the quake and suffered the highest number of casualties.

Officials said around 70 per cent of the buildings there had been destroyed.