IRAN sends aid cargo to HAITI

Iran Sends Aid Cargo to Haiti

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Saturday dispatched a cargo of emergency aids to the victims of the quake-hit Central American state of Haiti.

The goods include tents, washing powder, sugar, canned food, kitchen utensils and other needed articles, an official of Iran's Red Crescent Society told the Islamic republic news agency.

At least 50,000 people were killed and 1.5 million others lost their homes when an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale hit Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing buildings in the capital Port-au-Prince and burying residents under rubble.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast on Wednesday extended his condolences to the Haiti people and government on what came to be the strongest earthquake in the country in the last two centuries.

The spokesman expressed Iran's sympathy for the Haitian nation and government as well as the bereaved families of the victims, and expressed regret over the vast human loss and damage to properties.

International efforts to help Haiti in the wake of the earthquake are underway, with governments across the world and aid agencies mobilizing search and rescue teams and aid supplies.

Although the full scale of the disaster has yet to emerge, it is clear that it will pose a huge challenge.

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is still struggling to recover from devastating hurricanes in 2008.

It needs all kinds of help, from emergency and medical aid, to food aid, to the longer-term rebuilding of infrastructure.

[link to english.farsnews.com]