Article content

The Royal Canadian Navy is joining efforts to help New Zealand deal with the devastation caused by the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that hit the country on Monday.

New Zealand’s Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee has confirmed the Canadian frigate, HMCS Vancouver, is among the warships from five nations now on the way to provide help.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or HMCS Vancouver and crew to provide aid to New Zealand town hit by earthquake Back to video

The warships were to visit Auckland for an event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Instead they are bypassing that and will head to the town of Kaikoura to assist with the earthquake response.

The quake trigged massive landslides, destroying homes and cutting off the coastal town of Kaikoura. Two people died. Around 1,000 tourists in the town are stranded. New Zealand military helicopters helped rescue 200 people.

Brownlee said ships from five nations that were to attend the country’s International Naval Review – the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore – are sending their vessels to the region hit by the earthquake. A US destroyer equipped with two helicopters is among that effort. The US has also offered an aircraft to conduct surveillance flights, he added.