China to receive tent shipment
The Swiss government's development arm and the Swiss Red Cross have announced they will be sending more than 1,000 tents to the Sichuan disaster zone.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Red Cross said on Friday that the tents are expected to shelter between 6,000 and 8,000 people in the Chinese province, struck by an earthquake earlier this month.
The supplies are expected to arrive on May 27, where they will be handed over to the Chinese Red Cross. Four disaster experts will also make the trip.
An earlier SDC shipment containing 20,000 water canisters, as well as tarpaulins and blankets, was transferred to the Chinese on Friday.
The Swiss have also offered to send additional experts including geologists, environmental specialists and structural engineers.
The 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the Sichuan Basin on May 12 has killed in excess of 55,000 people and destroyed more than five million homes.
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