The first humanitarian aid on board Australian and New Zealand aircraft has landed in Tonga in these hours. The runway of the main port of call of the archipelago was cleared of the ash that covered it after the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano. In the last five days the territory has remained totally isolated.
The planes carry aid to deal with the humanitarian emergency and communications equipment in place of the damaged ones.
Australia has sent a C17 Globemaster and expects a second flight to take off by the end of the day. The New Zealand one has to unload water containers, hygiene kits, temporary shelters, generators and communication devices. While further contributions were promised from Japan, which announced the dispatch of two C-130s, as well as from China and France.
(Unioneonline / ss)
