China sends flood relief supplies to Sri Lanka
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Han Tao (L), the charge d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka, attends with Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka's Minister of Disaster Management, the handing over ceremony of Chinese relief goods at the Bandaranaike International Airport outside Colombo, Jan. 25, 2011.[Xinhua/Liu Yongqiu] |
Ten million yuan (1.52 million U.S. dollars) worth of emergency relief supplies provided by the Chinese government arrived here Tuesday to help Sri Lankan flood victims, officials said.
A simple handover ceremony, attended by Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and Charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy Han Tao, took place at the international airport near the capital Colombo.
"We always help each other in time of need, and I sincerely hope that these goods will be helpful to the relief effort of the government and the people of Sri Lanka," Han said.
Amaraweera on behalf of the Sri Lankan government thanked China for the humanitarian relief materials, which include 60 sets of water-purifying equipment, 10,000 bed sheets, 7,200 blankets, 10, 000 towel blankets and 30,000 bags of milk powder.
Persistent heavy rains triggered severe flooding in east and central Sri Lana during past weeks, killing dozens of people and affecting over 1 million others.
Sri Lankan officials said about 22,000 houses have been partially damaged in the disaster, with more than 5,300 others completely destroyed.
