JCB has donated a 3CX backhoe loader worth $100,000 to assist rescue and clean-up efforts in Ecuador following last Saturday’s devastating earthquake.Photo: JCB
JCB is donating a 3CX backhoe loader to help rescue and clean-up operations in Ecuador, which was hit by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake last Saturday.
At least 570 people were killed and more than 7,000 were wounded. JCB says reports indicate about 25,000 people remain in shelters as a consequence of the devastating earthquake. The country’s president, meanwhile, Rafael Correa, called the natural disaster the worst tragedy in Ecuador in seven decades.
JCB supplied the 3CX backhoe to the Provincial Council of Manabi through its Ecuadorian dealer, Automekano. The machine will be put to work shortly in the province’s Pedernales Canton, where more than 90 percent of homes have been destroyed by the earthquake.
“Padernales was very close to the epicenter,” said Santiago Vasconez, managing director of Automekano. “Many people are feared to have lost their lives, and many thousands have been left homeless by the destruction. There is a desperate need for equipment to help relief efforts.”
JCB has a history of helping countries affected by major natural disasters. In recent years the company has made equipment available to support relief and rebuilding efforts after earthquakes in Nepal, Indonesia, Chile, Pakistan and Haiti, and in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.
JCB is the world’s third largest manufacturer of construction equipment by volume.
