#Philippines – According to the Royal Navy, HMS Illustrious (RO6) the helicopter-carrier as previously reported has arrived in the Philippines today to bring a further boost in the humanitarian relief effort.
The 22,500 tons 'Invincible' class carrier will take over from HMS Daring (D32) which has been distributing aid and assisting villagers in remote communities on islands to the north east of Panay for the past week.
Onboard the flight-deck of HMS Illustrious are seven helicopters which will play a pivotal role in carrying around 500 tonnes of UK Aid to communities.
The delivery of aid includes 12,500 blankets, 20,000 candles, 30,000 rice bags, 9,800 tins of sardines, 8100 tins of vegetables, 17,000 shelter kits, 1,000 jerry cans and 1900 water carriers.
The workload in transporting the aid quickly into remote areas will be carried out by three Sea King Mark 4s, one Merlin and three Army Lynx.
The carrier was around 6000 nautical miles away in the Horn of Africa on counter-piracy operations as part of the Royal Navy's Response Force Task Group when she was re-tasked with the humanitarian aid operation.
