Abu Dhabi, March 01: Chileans residing in the UAE have not suffered any loss of relatives as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country on Saturday, the Chilean envoy to the UAE said on Sunday.
“There were no UAE nationals in Chile at the time of the disaster, as per the government immigration files,” Chilean ambassador Jean Paul Tarud-Kuborn told Khaleej Times.
“Some of the Chileans have not yet been able to contact their relatives back home, especially in the rural areas, due to disrupted communications, but we hope that they are all safe,” he said.
Chileans in the UAE are contacting the embassy which is providing them with all the information and help that it can, he said, adding that being a weekend in Chile, seven hours time difference, plus the effects of the disaster, it was difficult to establish contacts.
The local communication lines in Chile are doing better than international lines, he added.
He said that official count shows 250 people have died and 130 are missing. He said that 80 per cent of search and rescue efforts have been completed since 24 hours have passed the event. The rural areas remain without communication. Chileans make up a very small community of approximately 300 people in the UAE, of which around 50 reside in the capital and rest live in Dubai and the Northern emirates. Most of them are professionals, such as engineers, architects, pilots, and businessmen.
Tarud-Kuborn said that several countries, including the UAE, have offered to help Chile, but the government feels that local services can handle the catastrophe at this stage.
Carlos Salah, Chilean Trade Attache at the Chilean Trade Commission (ProChile) in Dubai, whose family members in Chile are safe, said that his country has the preparedness to handle earthquakes but Saturday’s earthquake was very powerful, of a high magnitude, which caused structural damage at a large scale.
Patricia Fuentes, a Chilean residing in Dubai, said that all her family members and relatives, who live in Los Lagos city in the south of Chile, are safe.
“I could not contact my father, but he was able to call me. They were safe, but he had no news of my 94 year old grandfather, uncle and others. Later my sister called me that all were safe,” she said.
Chile opened its first diplomatic mission in the UAE and in the GCC in October 2009.
–Agencies