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Canada sends aid workers, supplies to tsunami affected countries
5/1/2005 6:22

Canada's first relief agency flightsare leaving for tsunami-stricken Indonesia on Tuesday and Wednesday, sources of Air Canada said Tuesday.

The first of the two Air Canada cargo flights will leave Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, ferrying aid workers and more than 40,000 kilograms of desperately needed supplies.

A second plane will carry more than 85,000 kilograms of relief supplies to Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, on Wednesday, said Air Canada spokeswoman Laura Cooke.

The relief material, supplied by the World Vision Canada, is headed for Indonesia's hard-hit Aceh region.

"Things like dried food, water purification tablets, clothing, blankets, tarps, tents, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, which might sound funny, but soap and thatsort of thing are very important now because of the risk of disease," said Judy Burrell, a spokeswoman for World Vision Canadaof the supplies.

As of Tuesday, World Vision Canada had raised 8 million Canadian dollars (about 6.6 million US dollars) for the tsunami relief effort, part of the millions donated to charitable organizations by Canadians. The Canadian government has said it will match donations by individual Canadians up to Jan. 11.



 Xinhua