US accepts Mexico's aid for hurricane victims

The United States had accepted the assistance offered by Mexico for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The humanitarian mission expresses "the solidarity of the Mexicans with people in the United States, as well as the high level of political dialogue and inter-institutional coordination" between the two governments, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the US has accepted the aid, including Papaloapan, an amphibious vessel carrying "Ural" six-wheel-drive vehicles and APC-70 amphibious transportation and rescue vehicles. The vessel set sail Monday from the northern Mexican port of Tampico for the US city of New Orleans to carry out its humanitarian mission in coordination withthe US authorities.

Mexico is also sending an ambulance with a mobile surgical equipment, two MI-17 helicopters, as well as potable water and other supplies, said the communique.

Some 145,000 Mexicans in the United States were affected by the hurricane, 10,000 of them in New Orleans alone.

Reports to date indicate three Mexicans were killed in Louisiana, one of the areas seriously battered by Katrina. Relatives of these victims are waiting to claim their bodies for burial in their hometowns.

Source: Xinhua