Refugees may stay in ships
2005-09-05 15:35
Athens - Greece on Monday moved to bolster relief aid to flood-stricken New Orleans by placing two cruise ships and an emergency rescue team at the disposal of the United States' government.
The aid is additional to humanitarian support offered by the European Union, government spokesperson Theodoros Roussopoulos said on Monday.
The two cruise ships will be sent to host homeless people "for the next few months," while a squad of Greece's elite emergency rescue squad will help evacuate New Orleans residents still stranded by floodwaters, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The size of the Greek rescue team dispatched will depend on the requirements of the American government, Roussopoulos told a daily news briefing.
He gave no date for the departure of the two cruise ships.
The Greek contribution also includes "extraordinary humanitarian and food aid", the foreign ministry statement said, without adding further details.
- AFP