Frustration for volunteers (From Stroud News and Journal)

Frustration for volunteers

RESCUE volunteers from the Five Valleys were poised to fly out to crisis zones across Asia yesterday to help the millions left starving and homeless by the tsunami disaster.

Aid workers were awaiting the green light from the government to fly out to shattered coastal regions and help co-ordinate aid efforts in the aftermath of the tragedy, which has so far claimed 150,000 lives.

A 20-strong team of medics and logistics specialists from Quedgeley-based voluntary group Rapid UK were planning to fly out to Indonesia, where the death toll has reached 94,000.

But operations director John Holland told the SNJ yesterday that the group were still waiting to hear if they were needed.

"We are not going anywhere at the moment," he said. "Everyone is pretty down to be honest. There is an awful lot of disappointment - we have been doing this for 20 years and this is one of the biggest disasters.

"But we cannot go out there when there is no clear-cut task for us. There is a system in place and we have to fit into that."

Fellow local rescue group SARAID (Search And Rescue Assistance In Disasters) are trying to fund a flight to the disaster area. Their five-strong team plans to fly out with water purification equipment that can keep 20,000 people alive.

"It is frustrating because people need this water now," said director Stefan Hopkins. "We have this facility that can save lives and it is just sitting here not doing anything.

SARAID is hoping the Government will fund the flight but the team is trying to raise cash among themselves to fly out.