UAE orders emergency aid to quake-hit Algerians

The UAE has ordered the delivery of emergency relief assistance to victims of the devastating earthquake which struck the Algerian capital and its neighbouring towns on Wednesday, as the death toll in the disaster topped 1,600.

The gesture is in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Authority, ordered the authority to quickly reach out to the victims. The Zayed Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works is contributing to the authority's campaign to assist the quake-hit families.

According to Khalifa Nasir Al Suwaidi, board chairman of the authority, plans are underway to quickly dispatch a plane-load of relief assistance, including large quantities of medicines, medical equipment, as well as food to the affected people.

He said a delegation will leave today for Algiers to assess the situation. Yesterday, UAE ambassador to Algeria Ahmed Ghaith Al Hosani toured the earthquake-hit Boumerdes.

Meanwhile, hopes of finding survivors amid the devastation of earthquake faded yesterday as the death toll climbed to 1,600 despite frantic efforts by teams of foreign rescue workers and sniffer dogs.

Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia was quoted on state radio as saying more than 1,600 had died.

The Geneva-based Intern-ational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the death toll could reach 2,000 as rescue teams discover more victims in outlying villages along the North African state's heavily populated Mediterranean coast.

Officials said the area worst-hit by the earthquake was Boumerdes to the east of Algiers. That town alone accounts for some 835 of the dead and still has more than 1,200 missing.