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Navy could help with Peru quake if asked

If Peruvian government officials ask for help from the U.S. in recovering from Wednesday’s earthquake, the hospital ship Comfort is prepared to turn around and offer assistance, military officials said Thursday.

An earthquake that registered a magnitude of 7.9 struck the South American nation Wednesday night, killing more than 350 people and injuring more than 1,500, officials said. Many of the coastal towns south of Lima, the capital city, were without power.

The Comfort is now anchored off Ecuador, but it could sail back to Peru and begin assisting with recovery efforts if Peruvian leaders formally asked for help, said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Ray Sarracino, a spokesman for U.S. Southern Command, which is overseeing the Comfort’s humanitarian mission.

“We’re monitoring the situation and working with our planners in Peru. We’ll respond as quickly as possible, but we have had no request for assistance yet,” he said.

The Comfort wouldn’t need to make any stops for supplies or fuel to respond to the Peru quake if asked, Sarricino said, and if called the ship could “respond fairly quickly.”

The Comfort has already visited Peru as part of its four-month humanitarian cruise around South America; in fact, Peru was its last stop before Ecuador.