South Africa sends 44-member team to help in Algerian earthquake aftermath.
South Africa dispatched a 44-member team comprising doctors, paramedics and specialised search and rescue personnel to Algeria on Saturday, where a massive earthquake has killed more than 1,700 people, Foreign Affairs Department said.
Department spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said a contingent of relief departed from the Waterkloof Airforce Base in Pretoria under the command of SANDF's Col Willis Nkosi.
The violent earthquake that hit northern Algeria on Wednesday has killed 1,723 people and injured 7,605, according to the latest toll provided Saturday by the Algerian interior ministry.
Mamoepa said the team consisted of among others, sniffer dogs, medical supplies, medical personnel and equipment to detect bodies trapped under buildings.
Mamoepa said the relief effort was coordinated by Foreign Affairs Department in conjunction with the South African National Defence Force, South African Police Services and the Health Department.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma allowed emergency relief to be sent to Algeria on Friday, after an earthquake rocked Algiers, Bouneldes and surrounding areas.
President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday expressed South Africa's heartfelt condolences to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
The delegation also included representatives of NGOs, Global Relief and Rescue Africa and several volunteer engineers from across the country.
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24 Mai 2003 à 15:40 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
