Israel rushes to aid Kenya

Helping Kenya: 80-member rescue team to offer assistance after Nairobi building collapses
Roee Nahmias

(VIDEO) Offering a helping hand: Israeli officials have decided to rush a rescue team to Kenya in order to offer emergency assistance after a building in Nairobi collapsed on Monday.

The team, which will include highly trained members of the IDF's Home Front Command, will be departing to Kenya as early as Monday night following a request relayed to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni by Kenya's vice president. The team will assist in rescuing those trapped under the rubble.

The aid mission will also include Foreign Ministry representatives, medical staff, and rescue dogs.

Foreign Ministry officials noted Israel and Kenya have been longtime friends even during years where the two nations did not maintain diplomatic relations. Kenya also assisted Israel in the legendary rescue mission in Uganda in 1976, where IDF commandos freed Israeli passengers abducted by terrorists.

Israeli reputation

Officials in Israel first got word of the Kenyan building collapse Monday afternoon, according to Yoram Elron, who heads the Africa department at the Foreign Ministry.

"According to officials in Kenya, about 200 people were buried under the rubble…at this time we don't know if the figure is accurate," he told Ynet, adding Israel's ambassador in Nairobi was approached by Kenya's vice president and by the country's army chief.

"After we received quick permits from Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Ministry Director-General Ron Prosor, we started acting through an operations room and decided to get a Hercules plane out there as quickly as possible," Elron said.

"The plane will carry a delegation of about 80 team members, including professionals from the Home Front Command and a Foreign Ministry representative who possess extensive experience from previous incidents," Elron added.

"They (the Kenyans) promptly turned to us due to the Israeli reputation when it comes to rescue missions," he said. "The minister and the director general are directly involved and are doing everything in order to allow the plane to depart sooner."

So far, rescuers in Kenya recovered 12 bodies and evacuated more than 70 people to hospital.