Austrian doctors assist Trinco relief effort

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 21:42 GMT]
A medical team from Austrian Disaster and Assistance Team arrived in Trincomalee Tuesday at the request of Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRC) National Secretariat, SLRC sources in Trincomalee said. The Austrian team went to Kinniya, where the government hospital was completely destroyed in Sunday Tsunami, to provide medical help with the assistance of SLRC volunteers at a makeshift hospital at Kinniya Central College, SLRC sources said.

Sri Lanka Red Cross Trincomalee district branch has deployed its volunteers in full strength assisting search operation to recover dead bodies, to locate missing persons and to provide medical assistance to the injured in the badly hit villages, Kuchchaveli, Nilaveli, Kinniya, Muttur, Eeachilampathu and Trincomalee town in Sunday's Tsunami, SLRC sources said.

The SLRCS with the assistance and collaboration of ICRC, International Organization for Migrants , Danish Demining Team, Halo Trust, JRS and UNHCR has been providing emergency health services and humanitarian services to the hundreds of victims who had suffered injuries and other hardships due to the Tsunami Tidal waves.

40 First Aid Volunteers of the SLRCS Branch are involved in 8 refugee camps in the district in providing first aid and treatment, SLRCS in its media release said.

SLRC Trincomalee volunteers are now chlorinating all wells in the affected coastal villages as a first step to provide good drinking water, sources said.

Kinniya division till Tuesday evening topped the list of number of deaths with 384 and Muttur 267.Kuchchaveli division reported 70 deaths and Trincomalee town 65. Verugal division reported about 72 deaths and about thirty persons reported missing in several villages.

Representatives of several voluntary organizations said the death toll could reach 1000 mark in the coming days, sources said.