Sharapova provides humanitarian aid to hurricane-hit Puerto Rico

San Juan, Oct 24 (IANS) Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova has arrived in Puerto Rico to provide humanitarian assistance to the citizens affected by recent hurricanes and wildfires.

Sharapova and her fellow tennis player from Puerto Rico, Monica Puig on Monday visited San Jorge Children's Hospital, bringing medical supplies. The tennis players delivered humanitarian aid in Loiza, a small town on the north-eastern coast of Puerto Rico, reports Tass news agency.

"Thousands of supplies handed out in Loiza. 1,250 cooking stoves, 3,000 propane cylinders for the stoves, 1,000 solar powered lamps," Sharapova wrote on her Twitter page.

Puig also tweeted: "Maria, once again I cannot thank you enough for all your help for my beautiful Puerto Rico. Thank you for your love, friendship and support during this time. You definitely have a beautiful heart and soul.

"Together we helped the lives of thousands of people today and this is just the beginning! Puerto Rico will come back better and stronger from this! Thanks for helping me give them hope and a smile!"

Earlier, Sharapova said the money from the Internet sales of her own line of sweets and chocolates would go to a charity fund to help the citizens of Puerto Rico affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The charity fund in Puerto Rico was established by Puig.

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, with destructive winds and heavy rainfall, triggering massive floods what led to shortages of food, drinking water and fuel.

According to Moody's Analytics, the damage from the disaster may reach up to $95 billion.

Earlier, Puerto Rico had been damaged by Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Atlantic. The hurricane destroyed the infrastructure in the country, which is battling its way through a severe economic crisis.