Iran ready to aid disaster-hit Japan

Sun Mar 13, 2011 7:24PM

Head of Iran's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Abolhassan Faqih

Head of Iran's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Abolhassan Faqih has expressed Tehran's readiness to send humanitarian aid to Japan's quake-hit areas.

“The society is ready to send relief aid, food and medication to Japan,” Faqih said in a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Iran Kinichi Kumano on Sunday.

He added that Iran is prepared to send a five-member assessment team to Japan as soon as possible.

On Friday, an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, off the northeast coast of Japan's main island, unleashed a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours.

According to Japan's National Police Agency, 987 people have been confirmed dead and 707 were missing, with 1,128 injured, excluding bodies reportedly found on the Sendai coast.

The number of casualties however is expected to rise as 10,000 people are still unaccounted for in the port town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture.

Head of Iran's Rescue and Relief Organization Mahmoud Mozaffar referred to Tokyo's assistance in reconstructing the Iranian city of Bam and said the tsunami is the best opportunity for Tehran to repay Japan's kindness during the Bam earthquake.

Iran has also announced its readiness to the International Committee of the Red Cross and Japan's Red Cross Society.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has described the destructive earthquake and tsunami as Japan's worst crisis since World War II.

“This is the toughest crisis in Japan's 65 years of postwar history, I'm convinced that we can overcome the crisis,” Kan said earlier on Sunday.

MYA/HGH/MMN

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