Two U.S. warships, 17 helicopters and 1,000 Marines participating in joint exercises with Philippine troops have been diverted to the scene of a devastating landslide that may have killed up to 1,800 people, officials said Saturday. U.S. Charge d'Affaires Paul Jones said the USS Essex and the USS Harper's Ferry were expected to reach Southern Leyte province at daybreak Sunday. The two ships have the capability to transport 17 helicopters, 1,000 Marines, thousands of gallons of water-purification equipment, generators and blankets, he told a meeting on the disaster attended by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and various government officials. Jones said the U.S. government also has turned over US$100,000 (¤83,000) worth of disaster equipment to the Philippine Red Cross, while thousands of blankets, jugs of water and plastic sheeting were expected to be handed over Sunday. The ships and nearly 6,000 U.S. military personnel are here to take part in annual joint exercises called Balikatan starting Monday around the country. The Associated Press quoted a Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Brian Maka, as saying in Washington on Friday that the two ships, and possibly other vessels, were being dispatched in response to a Philippine government request for assistance. U.S. Marine Capt. Burrel Parmer, a spokesman for the exercises, said a U.S. humanitarian assistance survey team is also leaving on a KC-130 plane to assess the disaster area.
