Quake specialists arrive
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.THE UNITED States, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan, Singapore and Israel dispatched experts to Taiwan yesterday to help rescue earthquake victims, while the United Nations said it was sending a disaster assessment team.Tuesday's earthquake left more than 1,700 people dead and some 100,000 homeless. The death toll is expected to mount as teams dig through the rubble of collapsed buildings.
America's elite Fairfax County (Virginia) Urban Search and Rescue Team flew into Taichung, near the most heavily hit areas of Taiwan. They set off immediately for the scene of a massive apartment building cave-in in the town of Touliu in west-central Taiwan. Dozens of people died in Touliu, but it was unclear how many survivors might be trapped in the rubble.The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry is contributing 74 crack rescuers.
Also coming to Taiwan's aid are teams from Japan, Singapore and Israel. Forty search and rescue experts, nine dogs and 20 tons of material are arriving from the Swiss Disaster Relief Unit.
Also participating will be volunteers from Turkey's AKUT, a group which rescued hundreds of victims of its own earthquake and assisted during the recent one in Greece.
The Japanese government sent a 41-member rescue team and pledged pounds 500,000 aid (AP).
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments