Colombo: An advance contingent of United States Marines flew into Sri Lanka today (Jan 3, 2005) as tsunami death toll mounted to over 30,000 and relief workers struggled to contain the spread of disease in refugee camps.
Two aircraft brought 42 US Marines to join 12 others who arrived over the weekend to prepare the ground for up to 1,500 personnel expected to follow in the next few days.
Spotlight: Tidal Waves hit South Asia
Britain stepped up its emergency aid in the wake of last week's tsunami deluge by deploying a frigate, HMS Chatham, which anchored off Sri Lanka's coast to help prepare for a military deployment, a High Commission spokesman said.
"They will try to assess the needs and see how best British military assets can be deployed for the relief operation in Sri Lanka," the British spokesman said.
Already some 1,000 Indian military personnel are involved in search and rescue and medical missions in worst hit areas of Galle in the south and Trincomalee in northeast.
How you can help Tsunami Victims
With the debris being cleared and more bodies unearthed, casualties rose to 30,196 while the number of displaced also increased to 861,016. The number of missing people had fallen to 3,792 from a figure of 5,744.
Some 30 nations were involved in the mammoth relief operations after the island's worst ever natural calamity with many sending medical teams.
French Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy arrived in Colombo today with a cargo of medical supplies, including six tons of antibiotics and anti-diarrhoea treatment donated by Sanofi-Aventis, the French pharmaceuticals giant.
The French Minister was expected to travel to the south of the island where roads were being cleared of wreckage, officials said.
Relief workers said they feared the spread of disease in overcrowded centres for the displaced and much of their work was focused on providing sanitation and safe drinking water.
The eastern district of Ampara began to see urgently-needed supplies and foreign medical teams coming through after heavy rains and flash floods over the weekend prevented aid convoys reaching the refugees.
In north-eastern Trincomalee district, people made homeless by the giant wave surges in remote areas held by the Tamil Tigers were only just beginning to get supplies and sanitary conditions were appalling, eyewitnesses said. At the Patalipuram school where 209 families were sheltered, there was only one toilet.
Local officials charged that for the first few days after the tragedy, Tiger rebels had refused 20 trucks loaded with supplies sent by private donors to enter their territory.
In the worst-hit Ampara and Batticaloa districts, a Tiger military wing leader known as Colonel Bhanu commended Government forces for helping stricken Tamils procure relief.
"I must say that the (police) Special Task Force (STF) has been helpful to civilians in the Ampara district," Bhanu told the pro-rebel Tamilnet website. "They rescued several people hit by the Tsunami and helped retrieve bodies."
"Their work has been commendable in that region. We are able to solve problems in dealing with the crisis at a local level. The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and the STF are able to discuss and coordinate several issues in order to facilitate assistance to the people. We try to resolve problems at the local level in the interests of the people," Bhanu said.
PTI
(http://news.indiainfo.com/2005/01/03/0301lanka.html)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment