AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)
World

Spain sends 56 rescuers to quake-hit Morocco

Published September 10, 2023
This handout photograph taken and released on September 10, 2023 by the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) shows members of the UME ready to board an Airbus A400 military plane at the Zaragoza air base. Spain sent 56 rescuers and four search dogs to Morocco following the powerful earthquake that killed over 2,000 people after receiving a formal request for help from Rabat. Photo: AFP
This handout photograph taken and released on September 10, 2023 by the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) shows members of the UME ready to board an Airbus A400 military plane at the Zaragoza air base. Spain sent 56 rescuers and four search dogs to Morocco following the powerful earthquake that killed over 2,000 people after receiving a formal request for help from Rabat. Photo: AFP

MADRID: Spain on Sunday sent 56 rescuers and four search dogs to Morocco following the powerful earthquake that killed over 2,000 people after receiving a formal request for help from Rabat.

An A400 military plane took off from a base in the northeastern city of Zaragoza with the team bound for Marrakesh to “help in the search and rescue of survivors of the devastating earthquake suffered in our neighbouring country,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Spain is preparing to send a second plane with a rescue team run by the regional government of Madrid, Defence Minister Margarita Robles added during an interview with Spanish public television.

Pakistan caretaker PM, world leaders offer solidarity after devastating Morocco quake

“We will send whatever is needed because everyone knows that these first hours are key, especially if there are people buried under rubble,” she added.

The rescue team which departed on Sunday belongs to Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME), a body of the armed forces that was created to intervene quickly in emergency situations such as forest fires, floods and earthquakes.

They are equipped with tools to drill and cut reinforced concrete, as well as the means to detect toxic or explosive substances to ensure rescue teams work in safety, the defence ministry statement said.

UME teams have been deployed before to help in earthquake rescues in Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Nepal and most recently Turkey in February where they rescued six people, including a mother and two children.

The strongest-ever quake to hit Morocco has killed at least 2,012 people and injured over 2,000, many of them critically, according to the latest official figures.

Earlier on Sunday Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Madrid would send aid to Morocco after receiving a formal request.

“It is a sign of Spanish solidarity and of the sense of friendship which unites the people of Spain with the people of Morocco,” he said during an interview with Catalunya Radio, adding he received a call from his Moroccan counterpart requesting the aid in the early hours of Sunday.

“It will be as much aid as Morocco needs, at first what we are setting in motion are search and rescue teams because it is urgent to try to find the greatest number of people alive to save them. When it is time for reconstruction, Spanish aid will also be present.”

Other countries, including the United States and France, have also pledged humanitarian aid but Morocco would first need to formally request assistance, a step required before foreign crews can deploy.

Comments

Comments are closed.