Russia will send a team of 200 rescuers to the Philippines, stricken by a devastating typhoon, if a formal request is made, a spokesperson for the Emergency Situations Ministry said Sunday.
Six planes, including four Il-76 heavy transport planes, are preparing to fly to the Philippines. Six canine teams could be also deployed to assist operations in collapsed buildings, the spokesperson said.
According to Russia's Foreign Ministry and the federal agency for tourism, up to 150 Russian citizens may have been affected by the typhoon, which is believed to have killed at least 10,000 people on the hardest-hit Leyte Island.
Super typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons on record, swept across the Philippines on Friday, devastating towns and cities. The typhoon now is moving towards Vietnam.
