Cablegate: Spanish Pakistan Earthquake Relief Efforts

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 003793

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR SA AND EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PHUM PREL PK SP
SUBJECT: SPANISH PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORTS

REF: SECSTATE 195483

1. (SBU) ESTHOFF made reftel points October 24 to Spanish
Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) Technical Cabinet
Director Dolores Martin Villalba, asking for information on
earthquake-related assistance already provided to Pakistan
and encouraging Spain to announce further contributions at
the October 26 Geneva Donors Conference. Martin Villalba
briefed ESTHOFF October 27 on Spanish earthquake assistance
to Pakistan.

2. (U) The Spanish assistance effort, according to Martin
Villalba, began on October 10, two days after the Pakistan
earthquake. On that day, AECI dispatched a Boeing 757 with
40 Spanish relief officials and 8 tons of materiel. The
officials included nine firefighters from a special Valencian
emergency unit and 27 medical personnel from the Madrid
region. The medical personnel deployed near the city of Arja
while the firefighters deployed near the city of Muzafarabad.
The flight also contained three "sniffer dogs" to support
the firefighters and two outdoor mobile hospitals to support
the medical personnel.

3. (U) On October 11, AECI dispatched an Ilyusin 76
containing two relief vehicles and 20 tons of materiel (i.e.,
medicines, stretchers, wheelchairs, generators, blankets,
footwear, tarps, tents, body bags, and MREs). The vehicles,
(ambulances donated by the Madrid emergency services), were
turned over to the Pakistani Health Ministry.

4. (U) The original 40 Spanish relief officials rotated out
on October 21 and were replaced by 38 new officials, who
traveled to Pakistan with an X-ray machine, a water
purification plant, and additional medicines and MREs.

5. (U) The total cost of the Spanish relief effort is
estimated at 800,000 euros. This figure includes transport
costs and the actual value of the relief supplies delivered
to Pakistan. Four regional governments participated in the
effort (i.e., Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, and Madrid),
as did several Spanish NGOs.

6. (U) COMMENT: Spain is providing additional assistance
via the NATO relief effort. The Spanish Congress approved
October 26 the GOS's plan to send 370 troops (mostly
engineers) to Pakistan to participate in the NATO mission
there.
MANZANARES

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