HURRICANE KATRINA : Singapore copters now ferry supplies

WASHINGTON - THE Singapore Chinook helicopters helping in the relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina have turned from airlifting stranded victims to ferrying supplies to flood stricken areas.

Speaking from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) detachment at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Major Ignacius Lee, the deputy commander of the Mindef team, said the evacuation mission had been completed on Sunday.

They had been picking up victims from the New Orleans Superdome and the convention centre and taking them to the city's International Airport since Thursday. Yesterday, the Chinooks began ferrying Zodiac aluminium boats to the flood stricken area.

Said Major Lee yesterday morning: 'Since Sunday evening most of the refugees have been evacuated. So this morning we are flying in the Zodiac boats to the Chalmette area of New Orleans. They are rescue boats with outrigger motors.'

The boats, similar to those used by US Navy Seals, will be employed to search for victims of the hurricane yet to be rescued. They will also be used to collect any bodies found.

Once their mission was completed, Major Lee said the SAF contingent would continue working on ad hoc relief missions with the Texas Army National Guard in their base at Grand Prairie, Texas.

'We are used to working together,' he said.

The SAF contingent is expected to be involved in the Katrina relief mission for three weeks. 'We have been working every day since we deployed here on Thursday. We work the whole daylight hours,' said Major Lee.

Roger Mitton
US Bureau Chief, The Straits Times Interactive, 6 September 2005