(Reuters) – Countries and international organisations have lined up to help Lebanon after a massive warehouse explosion sent a blast wave across Beirut, killing at least 145 people and injuring nearly 5,000.
Below are details of some of the international assistance offered.
BANGLADESH – Emergency food, medical supplies and a medical team.
BRITAIN – A 5 million pound ($6.6 million) aid package including search and rescue help and expert medical support. The Royal Navy’s HMS ENTERPRISE will help asses damage at Beirut port.
CYPRUS – Two helicopters, 10 rescuers and eight rescue dogs. The Cypriot foreign minister said Nicosia had chartered a plane to deliver medical supplies and repatriate any Cypriots who wanted to leave Beirut. About 50 have already accepted the offer.
CZECH REPUBLIC – A team of 36 people.
DENMARK – An aid package worth 12 million Danish crowns ($1.91 million) to go to relief work, including hospitals in need of medical equipment as well as securing food, water and shelter.
EGYPT – Two planes with medical supplies.
FRANCE – 55 security personnel, 6 tonnes of health equipment and around 10 emergency doctors. French President Emmanuel Macron promised during a visit to Beirut to send more medical and other aid.
GERMANY – Germany will, if possible, send a 47-strong rescue team. Also 1 million euros in immediate aid via the German Red Cross to establish first aid stations in Beirut and provide medical equipment.
GREECE – A team of 12 personnel, a rescue dog and two special purpose vehicles.
HUNGARY – Budapest is providing 1 million euros of humanitarian aid to help with life-saving efforts and reconstruction.
IRAN – Nine tonnes of food, as well as medicine, medical equipment, medical personnel and a field hospital to Lebanon, according to Iranian media.
IRAQ – A plane with emergency medical aid and fuel aid.
ITALY – Two Air Force planes with eight tonnes of medical equipment and a team of experts, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
KUWAIT – Kuwait has delivered medical aid and other essentials.
NETHERLANDS – A 67-person search and rescue team.
NORWAY – 40 tonnes of medical equipment and 25 million Norwegian crowns ($2.79 million) in financial help.
POLAND – Medical materials and trained Polish rescuers. Poland’s State Fire Service will send 39 rescuers and four dogs. The flight is ready to leave as soon as Wednesday, once it gets approval from Lebanese authorities, the prime minister’s office said.
QATAR – The country dispatched the first of four planned flights on Wednesday with medical aid, and will deliver two field hospitals of 500 beds each, equipped with respirators and other necessary medical supplies.
RUSSIA – Five planes carrying medical equipment, a field hospital and medical personnel. All medical staff travelling to Beirut will be equipped with personal protective gear due to the coronavirus pandemic.
SOUTH KOREA – A $1 million emergency aid package.
TUNISIA – Two planes carrying food and medical aid. The president said his country could treat up to 100 of the casualties in its hospitals.
TURKEY – Turkey’s Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) is helping in the search for survivors, digging through debris to look for people and recover bodies.
The group has also mobilised a kitchen at a Palestinian refugee camp to deliver food to those in need, said Mustafa Ozbek, an Istanbul-based IHH official.
EUROPEAN UNION – Activating a programme that helps countries after natural disasters, and more than 100 firefighters are being deployed with vehicles, dogs and equipment for search and rescue operations. The EU also activated its Copernicus satellite mapping system to help assess the damage. The head of the EU executive said the European Commission is ready to help Lebanon with preferential trade and customs backing.
UNITED NATIONS – Releasing $9 million from the Lebanese Humanitarian Fund and additional funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Deploying teams to assist with the emergency response.
WHO, IFRC and UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – The World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the UAE have sent medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, medicine and surgical equipment.
WORLD BANK – The group said it would work with Lebanon’s partners to mobilize public and private financing for reconstruction and recovery, and “would be also willing to reprogram existing resources and explore additional financing to support rebuilding lives and livelihoods of people impacted by this disaster.”
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND – The IMF said it is exploring all possible ways to support the Lebanese people.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Compiled by Timothy Heritage and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, David Evans, Mike Collett-White, Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis)
