RI offers to send doctors to U.S.

RI offers to send doctors to U.S.

INDONESIA: The Indonesian government has offered to send 40 medical doctors to the United States to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, state media said on Sunday, quoting a senior minister.

"We are still waiting for the green light from the U.S. government about when exactly the Indonesian medical workers can depart for the U.S.," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Alwi Shihab, told the Antara news agency.

Alwi said the doctors will come from the health ministry, the armed forces and the national police force.

He said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had instructed him to provide whatever assistance the country could offer to help alleviate the suffering of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina made landfall in the U.S. Gulf Coast on Monday, thrashing the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The death toll is unknown but is expected to reach the thousands. -- AFP