Europe sending aid to El Salvador

Europe is sending to £1.27m in emergency aid to provide shelter, clean water and sanitation to victims of the El Salvador earthquake.

Europe is sending to £1.27 million in emergency aid to provide shelter, clean water and sanitation to victims of the El Salvador earthquake.

The EU's humanitarian aid office, ECHO, has already sent experts to areas worst hit by the quake close to the capital, San Salvador.

Another team of experts will be sent to the region on Wednesday, says spokesman Michael Curtis.

"We firstly have to identify the needs," he said.

Mr Curtis says the aid, expected to be approved later this week, would cover the costs of providing clean water, food aid and medical supplies.

In Stockholm, Sweden, Chris Patten, the EU commissioner for external relations, said: "I'd like to express our profound sympathies to the victims of the earthquake in El Salvador and their families.

"The first thing is to get a team on the ground to see exactly what's required and then we need to respond urgently," Mr Patten said after a meeting between EU officials and Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono.

"It's always important in these situations to not only provide assistance but to get it there as quickly as possible," he added.