§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many sniffer dogs in the United Kingdom were ineligible to accompany search and rescue teams to Iran on account of quarantine regulations. [147349]
§ Hilary BennThere are 12 collapsed structure search and rescue dogs that are registered with the National Search and Rescue dog group. None were ineligible to accompany the rescue teams to Iran. However, seven had only recently completed quarantine following the earthquake response to Algeria last May and their owners felt it was not appropriate to subject them to another spell of quarantine so soon after that mission.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many sniffer dogs accompanied the search and rescue specialists who went from the United Kingdom to Iran on 27 December 2003. [147350]
§ Hilary BennFour dogs sent from the UK took part in the search and rescue operations in Iran.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what briefing he has received from the heads of the UK search and rescue teams in Iran since their return to this country. [147385]
§ Hilary BennDFID officials have been in regular contact with team leaders since their return from Iran. There will he a formal debrief meeting, as is standard practice on Wednesday 21 January.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of the people described in his written ministerial statement of 5 January 2004,Official Report, columns 1–4WS, as having been evacuated to receive tertiary care in Iran have now received that care. [147386]
939W
§ Hilary BennAccording to latest reports from the Head of the Disaster National taskforce an estimate of 12,500 people were evacuated by air from Barn to other centres in Iran. All casualties have been treated.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his latest estimate is of the number of city officials in Bam who were killed during the recent earthquake. [147387]
§ Hilary BennThe latest official Iranian Government figures estimate that 30,000 people lost their lives of which a proportion were city officials. Specific details of city officials killed has not been released. Meanwhile the Iranian authorities and the Iranian Red Crescent Society tracing department are continuing their assessment of missing persons.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of unsolicited items provided by UK nationals to assist with shelter for people made homeless by the earthquake in Iran. [147388]
§ Hilary BennThe Iranian embassy has expressed its gratitude for the tremendous response by the British public to the tragic situation in Iran. We cannot however, estimate the quantity of the unsolicited items they have been offered.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of the people who suffered injuries in the earthquake in Iran have been(a) hospitalised and (b) treated. [147389]
§ Hilary BennThe latest official Iranian Government figures give an estimate of 30,000 casualties that suffered injuries. Some of 12,500 people sustained severe injuries and were evacuated to other centres in Iran for treatment. The Iranian Red Crescent set up an extensive mobilised medical field hospital with four additional field hospitals set up by the Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Azerbaijan and Japan.