Medical delegation will complete construction of a field hospital near Minamisanriku, a village devastated by the tsunami.
The IDF medical delegation to Japan will begin admitting patients on Tuesday morning after it completes construction of a field hospital near Minamisanriku, a village devastated by the tsunami that hit the country earlier this month.
Brig.-Gen. Shalom Ben- Aryeh, commander of the 53- member delegation – which consists of officers from the Home Front Command and the IDF’s Medical Corps – said the medical clinic would include surgical, pediatrics and maternity wards, as well as a intensive care unit, pharmacy and laboratory.
Seven Hebrew-speaking Japanese nationals joined the delegation on Monday to provide translation services and volunteer as liaisons with the local population.
The delegation met with local Japanese journalists on Monday and asked them to report on the establishment of the new clinic so it will attract as many patients as possible.
The delegation arrived on Sunday with 62 tons of medical supplies.
Radiation levels in the area where the IDF aid delegation has deployed are being tracked by experts from the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission and IDF Medical Corps.
“The scenes here are worse than in an earthquake,” Ben- Aryeh said in an interview from Japan. “It looks like after a meteor strike or a nuclear explosion. Everything from mud, water, wood, trees, cars, trucks and debris are all mixed together.”
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?ID=214236&R=R1
Medical Aid Delegation Departs for Disaster Zone in Japan
The aid delegation to Japan landed this afternoon (March 27th) in a Tokyo airport, after a 14 hour flight.
The delegation was received at the airport by the Israeli Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Nissim Ben-Shitrit, as well as the embassy staff, and the IDF attaché in Tokyo, Rami Ben-Efraim.
As of recently, the delegation has been making its way by bus towards Kurihara, located in the Miyagi Prefecture.
Tomorrow, the aid delegation will set up its medical equipment and begin administering aid to local residents in Minamisanriku. The 53 members of the delegation join the preliminary team and the logistics staff already sent by Israel to Japan. In total, there are 60 members of the aid delegation.
IDF Aid Delegation Lands in Japan
Commander of the Delegation, Brig. Gen. Shalom Ben-Arieh and the Israeli Ambassador to Japan, Nissim Ben Shitrit, brief the aid delegation upon their arrival to the town of Minami Sanriku in the Miyagi Prefecture.
