(Reuters) – Following are some of the offers of aid and support from foreign governments following the powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late on Friday.
TUNISIA
Tunisia has assembled a team, which is waiting to depart pending authorisation from Morocco, to support search and rescue efforts, a spokesperson for the country’s civil protection agency said on Sunday. Interior Ministry officials said earlier that the team had already arrived in Morocco. The team includes about 50 paramedics and personnel from a specialized unit, and search dogs, as well as advanced thermal monitoring devices, a drone to detect victims under the rubble and a field hospital.
SPAIN
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Sunday that Spain would send search and rescue teams and aid, having received a formal request for help from Morocco. “It is a sign of Spanish solidarity and of the sense of friendship which unites the people of Spain with the people of Morocco,” Albares told Catalunya Radio, after receiving a call from his Moroccan counterpart.
A unit from the Spanish Emergency Military Unit (UME) was set to fly to Morocco, Spanish television RTVE reported. The UME is a specialised unit of the army that handles search and rescue missions.
FRANCE
France stands ready to help Morocco but the government there has not yet requested it, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.
Separately, the Foreign Ministry said it was activating a fund of local government contributions to support solidarity actions. At this stage nearly 2 million euros ($2.14 million)have been pledged, it said. Additionally, many French companies have contacted the ministry to say they intend to contribute to France’s support efforts.
Telecoms group Orange said on Saturday that it would lift charges for its mobile clients for fixed and mobile calls as well as SMS to Morocco, until Sept. 16. Its units in Belgium, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have also announced free communications to Morocco for a week.
ISRAEL
Israel’s Magen David Adom national medical and disaster emergency service said on Saturday that its head contacted the president of Moroccan Red Crescent with an offer of help.
“Representatives from Magen David Adom are gearing up to depart within the next few hours,” it said in a statement. “They will be joining hands with delegations from the Ministry of Health and the Israel Defense Forces.”
ALGERIA
Algeria, which broke off ties with Morocco two years ago, said it would open its air space for humanitarian and medical flights to Morocco. In a statement on Saturday, Algeria’s presidency said it was ready to provide humanitarian aid and offer all its material and human capabilities in solidarity with the Moroccan people, if Morocco requests such help.
TURKEY
Turkey’s AFAD disaster management authority said on Saturday that 265 aid workers from AFAD, the Turkish Red Crescent and other Turkish NGOs were ready to travel to the earthquake region in case Morocco calls for international assistance. It also said that Turkey was ready to deliver 1,000 tents to the affected areas. By Sunday the team had not yet departed.
KUWAIT
Kuwait’s Emir Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah directed the government to provide all necessary relief supplies for Morocco, the state news agency (KUNA) said on Saturday.
TAIWAN
Taiwan’s fire department said on Saturday it had put a team of 120 rescuers on standby to go to Morocco the moment they get instructions from Taiwan’s foreign ministry.
($1 = 0.9347 euros)
(This story has been corrected to state that Tunisia’s team has not yet been sent after a civil protection agency official clarified earlier information from the interior ministry in paragraph 1)
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Compiled by Frances Kerry; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
