Amsterdam - The international medical relief organisation Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), is sending a plane with ten staff and 40 tonnes of relief goods to India tonight at 22.00. The plane will be leaving from the Belgian airfield Ostend to Aghmadabad, India. The team will then continue to the region of Kutch, which has been heavily hit by last Friday's earthquake. In India, the MSF team will be mainly providing first aid and surgical care to wounded, as well as disease prevention.

A specialised team from Belgium will concentrate on kidney-problems, which can occur when limbs get are crushed in the debris and rubble. Mobile medical teams will provide care in more remote areas. The shipment of relief goods consists among other things of 150 family tents, a large number of hospital tents, plastic sheeting and blankets to provide initial shelter to the people who are homeless.

Complete basic medical kits are included which contain an ample supply of the required drugs and bandages, as well as surgical equipment. Last Saturday MSF already sent an exploratory team to the affected area from it's office in Delhi. At present, it is gathering data on the needs there and is preparing the arrival of the new team.