Chile requests Canadian earthquake aid

OTTAWA, March 2 (UPI) -- Chile has formally asked Canada for specific relief assistance after Saturday's catastrophic earthquake that killed more than 700 people.

In Ottawa, Chilean Ambassador Eugenio Ortega told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. his country had asked Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon for a temporary field hospital, generators for hospitals, a pontoon bridge and satellite phones.

Officials initially asked other countries not to rush in with relief until damage assessment was better completed after the magnitude 8.8 quake and more than 100 aftershocks.

President Michelle Bachelet Sunday said there would be a need for water purification plants and experienced rescuers to relieve Chilean workers, the report said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said on its Web site 520 Canadians living in Chile had been located, although 337 still haven't been found by family, friends or consular officials, the CBC said.