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US to fly in first relief supplies for cyclone victims |
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Mizzima News
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Monday, 12 May 2008 11:00 |
US military flight left for Burma, to supply relief aid
Update: May 12, 2008 01:03 - Burma Standard Time
US military's C-130 flight, loaded with aid materials, has left Thailand's airbase in U-Tapao for Burma to provide aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis.
US to fly in first relief supplies for cyclone victims
Update: May 12, 2008 11:08 - Burma Standard Time
U-Tapao – The US will begin to airlift relief for the first time on Monday to Cyclone Nargis victims in Burma's Irrawaddy delta. The relief materials will be ferried in on a C -130 military aircraft which is ready to take off, a US Marine spokesperson said at a press conference in Thailand's air base in U-Tapao.
The C-130, loaded with 28,000 pounds of supplies, including mosquito nets, blankets and water will be the first US aid flight to land in Rangoon today, Lt. Col Douglas Powell said.
Powell said the aid is meant purely as relief for the cyclone victims and said it is the first of a series of assistance from the US.
Powell said the US Army has military aircraft on standby that could speed up the relief supply process. He also said they have two more aircrafts that could carry relief materials of up to 15,000 to 20,000 pounds on stand by and that it could expedite relief work if the Burmese government provides the green signal.
Moreover, he said the US has four naval ships near Burmese waters that are waiting for permission and could reach relief once its receives the go ahead.
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Breaking News 
"We are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country very quickly, we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today's current crisis," 
