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| HMNZS Canterbury (Image: Wiki Commons) |
WELLINGTON, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Almost 300 New Zealand military personnel have arrived in cyclone-ravaged Fiji with much needed relief supplies, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said Thursday.
The NZDF humanitarian aid operation was in full swing with the arrival of multi-role naval vessel HMNZS Canterbury carrying 106 tonnes of emergency supplies, said Colonel Glenn King, commander of the task group in Fiji.
"Canterbury will serve as the maritime base for New Zealand's post-disaster recovery operations in Fiji's northern outer islands," King said in a statement.
"We work to the Fiji government's priorities and their request to us is to get food, water and shelter to the disaster-struck remote communities in the northern outlying islands."
Commander Simon Rooke, commanding officer of the Canterbury, said the ship would sail later Thursday to the northern Lau group of islands after disembarking two New Zealand air force NH90 helicopters, loading additional aid supplies.
Read the full story at Xinhua