German civil defence waiting for Chilean help request

Germany's civil defence agency, the THW, said Sunday it had sent a reconnaissance team to Chile, but was still waiting for an official request from the Chilean government for aid.

THW specializes in using powerful machinery and advanced sensors to clear rubble and search for missing people, dpa reported.

Two rescue specialists, a doctor and a relief coordination expert left Germany late Saturday for Buenos Aires, Argentina and were to travel onwards to meet German embassy staff in the earthquake zone on the other side of the South American continent.

"Whether we send anyone else depends on whether we get an official request," said a spokesman at THW headquarters in Bonn.

A non-government organization, Humedica, said it was transferring relief personnel, from Haiti, site of the last big quake, to Chile. Its director had left Haiti for Chile and two doctors, who had just come back to Germany after relief work in Haiti were off to Chile.