Taiwan dispatched a rescue team to the Indonesian island of Sumatra yesterday to help with emergency aid and rescue work after a powerful earthquake hit the region on Sunday.
The seven-person team consisting of six emergency aid specialists from the Taipei County Government Fire Department and one doctor is the first ever from Taiwan to conduct search and rescue work overseas.
The team's 640kg of rescue gear includes sonar and infrared equipment used to search for survivors in collapsed buildings.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES. N
The team is also bringing along electric generators and satellite telephones.
Another medical team from the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corp (TRMPC, 台灣路竹會) is to depart for the earthquake-torn island today along with several more rescue specialists from Pingtung County.
Both the Taipei and Pingtung emergency aid teams were established late last year after the catastrophic 7.3 earthquake on Sept. 21, that left 2,297 dead, approximately 8,400 injured and an estimated 100,000 homeless. The teams received four weeks of intensive training in Singapore earlier this year.
Over 20 countries sent rescue teams to Taiwan in the aftermath of the 921 quake.
Liu Ming-chun (
"We are bringing the basic medical supplies needed in earthquake relief along with equipment to set up a field clinic, if needed," Liu said.
"There has been limited time to prepare; we just received a request from the foreign minister this morning asking us to leave in a couple of hours," he added.
The TRMPC has undertaken other short stints previously. The group gave aid during the crisis in Macedonia caused by the fighting in Kosovo last spring and also went to Liberia in February.
Bengkulu, the western province of Sumatra, was rocked by a massive earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale late Sunday night, killing 117 and injuring 700 so far.
The US, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Malaysia and Australia have all offered aid or emergency relief.
A team of Singaporean doctors arrived Tuesday with the first planeload of foreign relief while a 19-member medical team from Japan arrived yesterday.
The US embassy in Jakarta said yesterday that Washington has pledged US$25,000 in immediate assistance to the victims and was ready to give more if necessary.
Japan announced a US$140,000 emergency grant on Tuesday, providing tents, plastic sheeting and construction tools.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Canberra was sending US$143,000 worth of rapid-response aid and two emergency relief experts were on their way to assess the situation.
Officials at Taiwan's representative office in Jakarta said flights to Bengkulu are scheduled to operate today but the rescue team will travel to Sumatra by boat if necessary.
About 40 percent of Bengkulu City's electricity network was functioning again yesterday and water supplies were back on in some parts of town. Both had been knocked out by the quake.
Bengkulu seemed to be in a better state than Manna, the main city in the South Bengkulu district which appeared to have borne the brunt of the earthquake.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS