CHILE - The status of Santiago’s main convention center was unknown Monday as rescue work continued in the wake of the deadly magnitude 8.8 earthquake that slammed the Chilean capital over the weekend.
Executives at Kallman Worldwide told Exhibition World’s US partner, Trade Show Executive, that their staff in Santiago made it through the quake unscathed. They had not, however, been able to make contact with either the management of Espacio Riesco, Santiago Convention and Exhibition Center Chile, or the Chilean Air Force.
The Air Force is the organiser of the FIDAE International Air & Space Fair, scheduled to run on 23-28 March at a military air base adjacent to Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport. Kallman is organising the US pavilion at the show, as well as also managing EXPOMIN 2010 on 12-16 April at Espacio Riesco.
“We are actively working to gather all possible information regarding these two events,” said Joan Williams, energy and mining program manager at Kallman. “The situation is fluid and news is coming in from several directions."
"We have had contact with our Santiago office and our colleagues and their families are safe,” Williams said. “We have not yet established contact with Fisa S.A., the organizer of EXPOMIN, nor with the venue, Espacio Riesco.”
