Irish Red Cross Secretary General leaves for Iran

The Irish Red Cross is among a number of international aid agencies that are gathering in the Iranian capital Tehran this weekend to co-ordinate the relief response to the Bam earthquake.

Forty-one thousand people are thought to have died in the devastating tremor which struck the south-western city on St Stephen’s Day.

Thousands of people remain homeless, with most people living in temporary shelters.

The Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross, Carmel Dunne, is leaving for Iran today.

She said: "There are 200,000 beneficiaries of Red Cross Aid and this is expected to continue for a long time, as a new hospital is built, along with housing."