Athens , 27 March 2010

Mr. Hatzimichalis: Foreign Ministry spokesman Gregory Delavekouras is on the line to tell us what he knows about the earthquake in Chile, as there is a Greek community in Santiago. Mr. Delavekouras, good morning.

Mr. Delavekouras: Good morning.

Mr. Hatzimichalis: What is the initial snapshot you have, because we know that communication with Chile is very difficult.

Mr. Delavekouras: Communication with Chile is, in fact, very difficult right now. As you know, an 8.8-Richter earthquake occurred some 320 kilometres south of Santiago. We have communicated with our Embassy, though communication is very difficult. There still isn’t a precise picture of the extent of the disaster. We are gathering data.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry has activated its Crisis Management Unit in order to collect data on Greek citizens who may be seeking relatives or other people in Chile. The telephone number is 210-3681912, and at this time we are trying to gather information.

Mr. Hatzimichalis: As you said you have been in contact with the Embassy, do you have an idea of how the Greeks are? Have some of them made contact? Can they contact anyone? Because we know that communication and the situation is very confused, and the information we are getting is very confusing.

Mr. Delavekouras: Unfortunately, no. From the files we have – that we keep – The Greeks in Chile live mainly in Santiago and cities north of Santiago. The epicentre of the quake, I repeat, was …

Mr. Hatzimichalis: Was further south.

Mr. Delavekouras: It was 320 kilometres south of Santiago. It appears that there was material damage in Santiago. We don’t have a picture yet, beyond the statement made by the President of Chile, regarding the number of victims. At this time we are continuing our efforts to gather information.

Mr. Hatzimichalis: Right. We will be in touch for anything new. We remind our listeners of the number you gave us for anyone who wants to communicate with a relative there. That number is 210-3681912, right?

Mr. Delavekouras: Exactly.

Mr. Hatzimichalis: Great. Thank you very much.  We’ll be in touch. Thank you very much. Take care.

Mr. Delavekouras: I thank you.