Aid arrives for quake victims

Britain has committed more than £600,000 to the rescue effort in earthquake-hit El Salvador, Junior International Development minister George Foulkes announced today.

He stressed during an emergency statement that the Government will 'respond sympathetically' to further requests for assistance.

The Department for International Development's emergency response centre had been operating 24 hours a day since the disaster on Saturday, which has so far claimed the lives of 400 people, said Mr Foulkes.

Rescuers in the central American country are continuing to dig for survivors buried in their homes following Saturday night's quake that has killed at least 400 people. One victim, 22-year-old Sergio Moreno, was found alive after surviving for 30 hours in an air pocket under more than 10 feet of mud and rubble.

The 7.6-magnitude quake has left thousands unaccounted for in the country and more dead and injured in neighbouring Guatemala. Smaller aftershocks were felt in San Salvador and rocked Honduras and Guatemala, and swayed buildings as far away as Mexico City.

Thousands of homes and town buildings have been destroyed in the earthquake and the country's president Francisco Flores has declared a state of national emergency and appealed for international help to search for survivors. He has also requested 3,000 coffins from the government of Columbia, saying: 'any evaluation of damage and what it will take to rebuild is still very premature.'

Mr Foulkes added: 'This is an appalling natural disaster. The United Kingdom government is doing and will do everything possible to contribute to the international rescue and relief effort.'

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