Media Advisory
Monday 28 February 2011

Christchurch Earthquake – NZ Defence Force – Update 10
• AIR FORCE FREIGHT OVER HALF A MILLION KILOS
• CANTERBURY TO ARRIVE BACK IN LYTTELTON AROUND 6PM
• ARMY ENGINEERS HEAD INTO SUBURBS
• NZ DEFENCE FORCE PERSONNEL IN TIMOR-LESTE HOLD CHURCH SERVICE
The total freight facilitated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force into Christchurch since the start of the operation has now reached 601,000kg, with 130,000kg moved in the last 24 hours.
150 aircrew and support personnel remain committed to the RNZAF effort in the city and 370 passengers have been moved from Christchurch in last 24 hours.
Air Force Iroquois helicopters are also set to undertake food distribution tasks.
HMNZS CANTERBURY, the Royal New Zealand Navy’s Multirole Vessel is making good time as she heads back to Lyttelton. She is full with:
• a fuel tanker (belonging to Chevron Mobil)
• four Telecom vans
• four pallets of Telecom equipment
• 20 DoC 4WD vehicles
• five Housing New Zealand 4WD vehicles
• two pallets of water
• two containers of bedding (Department of Corrections)
• medical backpacks (Ministry of Education)
• Army equipment including two Unimog trucks, a truck tractor and 12 Bailey bridges
• four refrigerated containers
• three diesel generators.
CANTERBURY is expected around 6pm at this stage, although THIS TIME MAY CHANGE and her ETA will be updated.
Non-armed security patrols have continued in Lyttelton Town centre with HMNZS PUKAKI, OTAGO and PEGASUS personnel contributing. Personnel from all three units have also been securing/boarding up shop windows and providing similar DIY assistance.

1,113 NZ Army personnel remain committed with 129 Singapore Army (SAF) personnel to providing the 24/7 cordon around the city and also in the suburbs of Bexley and Waltham.

NZ Army engineers have moved out to Sumner this morning to assist with tasks in this area and 80 soldiers from the four North Island Territorial units have joined the 164 South Island Territorial soldiers to assist with tasks around the city.

Army engineers are continuing to operate a water production unit in New Brighton, in addition to delivering packaged water from Burnham Military Camp.

Army catering teams are continuing to produce 1900 breakfasts, 2200 lunches and dinners and 350 midnight meals per day. Three Environmental Health teams continue to work with the Ministry of Health.

NZ Defence Force personnel serving in Timor-Leste reflected on the tragedy in their church service yesterday, attended also by personnel from the Australian-led International Stabilization Force (ISF).

”We remember the thousands of people who are desperately trying to cope physically and emotionally with the disaster at home in Christchurch … We too are grieving and trying to cope with the magnitude of the disaster in our own country and in many cases our own city.

“All of this when we are so far away and wishing we were able to be home to help the people of Christchurch, and to comfort loved ones … We still have a job here to do. It is the nature of New Zealand to help others, and of our Defence and Police Forces to put our duty before our own personal needs. Timor still requires our presence here, as do the other nations our services people are currently in.

“There are some very tough times ahead for us all. But Christchurch will eventually rebuild and New Zealand will remain a proud and good member of the international community. NZDF and Police will continue to serve our nation both at home and abroad and we will continue, here in Timor, to serve for the good of others and to fly our nation’s flag proudly,” says Major Ian Lattimore, Officer Commanding NZ National Command Element in Timor-Leste.
ENDS

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