Australian Prime Minister John Howard, whose government made the largest pledge of aid to tsunami-stricken nations, toured ravaged Aceh province on Wednesday as Indonesia said it had buried 110,000 victims. Howard flew in an Australian military transport plane to Banda Aceh to meet with patients and doctors at the provincial capital's severely damaged main hospital, where the giant waves left mud-spattered halls and dark pools where gardens used to be.

"The whole response to the tsunami has been a reminder of the common humanity that we all share," Howard said.

"When you have tragedy, you forget differences of race, of religion, of ethnicity. The only aim you have is to deliver competent assistance."

Of the $8 billion in public and private pledges to nations hit by the December 26 tsunami, Australia's government promised $815 million, the largest amount from any country. Its military was among the first to respond with 1,000 Australian Defence Force personnel in Sumatra, along with helicopters, transport aircraft, a military field hospital and a water purification plant.

Copyright Reuters, 2005