Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Taiwan offers funds, sends rescue team to quake-hit Haiti (roundup)

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) The Taiwan government has offered an immediate donation of US$200,000 to Haiti and is sending a rescue team to the Caribbean country that was hit Tuesday by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday.

A rescue team from the National Fire Agency (NFA), which consists of 23 workers and two search and rescue dogs, will take an 11: 40 p.m. China Airlines flight to Haiti via Los Angeles, Miami and the Dominican Republic, carrying 2,000 kilograms of equipment, the MOFA said in a press release.

The Taiwan government is closely monitoring the situation and will offer more donations, humanitarian aid and rescue squads to its ally if necessary, the MOFA said.

Taiwan's ambassador to Haiti was injured but was in stable condition and one Taiwanese businessman was unaccounted for after the quake hit Haiti, MOFA spokesman James Chang said.

Hsu Mien-sheng, Taiwan's ambassador to the Caribbean country, sustained a broken bone, and an embassy employee suffered a minor back injury but was in good condition, Chang said. All Taiwan nationals in Haiti are safe except for the businessman who was reported missing, he added.

With communications erratic in some regions, the MOFA is still trying to get in touch with the missing businessman, he said.

Chang said Wednesday afternoon that an inter-agency task force has been set up to coordinate relief and rescue efforts, as the Taiwan government planned to send rescue teams and humanitarian supplies to Haiti as soon as possible.

President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih have extended condolences to victims of the earthquake, Chang said.

There are currently around 30 Taiwanese nationals in Haiti, including four or five businessmen, 13 members of a technical mission and diplomats, Chang said.

The two-story building of Taiwan's embassy in Port-au-Prince was partially damaged in the quake, he added.

Mario Chouloute, Haiti's ambassador to Taiwan, told the media that Haiti is looking to Taiwan's for assistance with camping equipment, rescue teams and medical services.

The MOFA has requested Taiwan's embassy in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti, to obtain information on the damage and offer as much assistance as possible, Chang said.

Officials at the Taipei City Fire Department said that a rescue team from the city is ready to depart for Haiti whenever necessary.

Meanwhile, the MOFA is coordinating a collaborative rescue effort with several non-governmental organizations, including World Vision Taiwan, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation and Dharmaa Drum Mountain Foundation.

World Vision Taiwan, which currently provides aid to 7,500 children in four regional programs in Haiti, said it is still gathering information on damage and casualties and is in close contact with the MOFA, the Red Cross Society and World Vision Haiti.

The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation said that Tzu Chi's U.S.

headquarters has set up an emergency coordination center to respond to the needs in Haiti. A meeting will be held Thursday with other humanitarian organizations to discuss how to collaborate to provide aid.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake that hit the Caribbean country at 4: 53 p.m. local time Tuesday had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 15 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince at a depth of only eight kilometers.