UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon promised on Saturday to help Chile recover from last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami as the nation prepared for three days of mourning to remember the hundreds of dead.
“The United Nations stands with the Chilean people in the difficult challenge of overcoming this natural disaster,” Ban said on Saturday after stepping over rubble in Concepcion, a coastal city that was one of the worst-hit by the catastrophe.
The UN secretary-general also visited the nearby port city of Talcahuano, which suffered severe damage from tsunamis following the Feb. 27 magnitude 8.8 quake.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Officials initially said 802 people had died, but now say 452 deaths have been confirmed. The toll was revised after it was discovered that in some areas people who were missing had been listed as dead.
The South American nation planned three days of national mourning starting yesterday, when flags will be hung on front doors out of respect for the dead.
Authorities, meanwhile, late on Saturday scaled back a curfew applied in badly hit provinces and said 80 percent of electricity services had been restored.
“I am very moved by such strong determination by the people on the ground,” Ban said in Concepcion, after promising to deliver a report on the disaster to the UN this week.
Ban already pledged US$10 million in immediate help from the UN and on Friday helped to launch a 24-hour telethon featuring celebrities in a bid to raise 15 billion pesos (US$29 million) for disaster victims.
Despite being considered a model of stability in Latin America, Chile has struggled to cope with the scale of the catastrophe, with the government of outgoing Chilean President Michelle Bachelet under fire for its slow response.
The Chilean navy on Friday sacked the head of the agency in charge of issuing catastrophe warnings.
Bachelet said on Friday that 35 nations had responded to specific aid requests.
Two US Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft and a team of about 50 personnel were due in Chile on Saturday to provide airlift support.
On the ground, aftershocks continued to shake rescue efforts.
A magnitude 6.8 tremor on Friday was one of the strongest of more than 200 to rattle the nation in the aftermath of the disaster that has left some 2 million homeless.
Half a million homes were also destroyed and sanitary conditions for many still living on the streets were a growing concern.
“We have cases of gastroenteritis, respiratory problems and we’ve had heart problems due to fears caused by recent aftershocks,” said doctor Carlos Barra, working in a health center near Concepcion.
Vaccinations against hepatitis and tetanus had started in the devastated coastal town of Constitution, Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende said.
About 80 percent of electricity services had also been restored, although some areas still lacked drinking water supplies, Rosende said.
Chilean authorities shortened a curfew in Concepcion from 18 to 13 hours on Saturday and reduced curfews in Arauca, Nuble and Biobio provinces.
Police detained scores of people in Concepcion overnight for ignoring curfews that were applied as tensions flared immediately after the quake and looting became widespread.
Police said they had recovered thousands of possessions, including plasma TVs, washing machines and furniture, aided by tip-offs from local residents.
Rescue workers in the coastal city on Saturday called off their search for a 26-year-old man still missing in the remains of the 15-story building where 12 people had died.
“We’ve humanely and reasonably done all that was possible,” said Juan Carlos Subercaseaux, captain of the firefighters preparing to clear the rubble.
Bachelet deployed 14,000 troops in the wake of the disaster, in a move unprecedented since the 17-year military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, which ended in 1990.
She is due to hand over the presidency to Sebastian Pinera, a multi-millionaire right-wing businessman, on Thursday.
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