A member of the Russian rescue team and a sniffer dog search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building on Sunday, in Wenchuan, Sichuan province. [Photo: Xinhua]
Volunteers from home and abroad who are not sufficiently trained in disaster relief or medical assistance should not simply turn up in quake-hit regions, an official with a France-based NGO said yesterday.
The good intentions of unorganized volunteers notwithstanding, their presence might put extra pressure on local transport and accommodation, and impair the rescue work, the official from Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF), who asked not to be named, said in Chengdu.
MSF is an international humanitarian medical organization that provides emergency assistance to people hit by natural disasters around the world.
"With experienced and competent workers, sufficient rescue materials and money, we are fully prepared to offer medical help to those in need," the official said.
"And our whole spearhead team of 30 members would like to be stationed together at a hard-hit township or small village in dire need of help, and handle the entire rescue and relief operation there," he said.
MSF members, mostly foreign medical personnel, are currently working at several different sites.