SA to deliver relief supplies to Madagascar today

The South African government has today authorized the dispatch of a relief mission to Madagascar to deliver humanitarian aid to the victims of the recent cyclone. The foreign affairs department says a defence force task team equipped with four Oryx helicopters and a C130 Hercules aircraft will depart for cyclone-hit Madagascar today.

The relief mission follows a request for help from Marc Ravalomanana, the president of Madagascar, to President Thabo Mbeki last week. The helicopters and airplane will be used in a joint operation with the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Programme, to deliver food and medicine to areas whose infrastructure was destroyed by the cyclone and therefore not easily accessible.

The department says the team will also include air traffic controllers, logistics and medical officers. Cyclones recently destroyed an estimated 120 000 structures and left 240 000 people homeless in Madagascar.