BackNarendra Modi sends aid to Nepal after worst earthquake since 1934
India dispatched a military plane and disaster management personnel to Nepal
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New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent aid to neighbouring Nepal and sought to provide relief for citizens in northern India who were also affected by the region’s most powerful earthquake in 80 years.
“We are in the process of finding out more information and are working to reach out to those affected, both at home and in Nepal," Modi tweeted soon after the quake.
Modi also spoke with Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and assured them of all possible help. “Nepal’s pain is our pain," Modi said while expressing sadness over the loss of lives and property caused by the quake in Nepal as well as in India. “I have spoken to their Prime Minister and President and assured them that this country of 125 crore is with you," he said.
Saturday’s earthquake killed more than 1,000 people, according to Nepalese authorities. Some 34 people died in India, including 23 in Bihar, home secretary L.C. Goyal told reporters in New Delhi.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake caused major damage in densely populated parts of the Himalayan nation and shook buildings in India and Bangladesh. Subway services in India’s capital were temporarily suspended and the foreign ministry created phone helplines.
Modi was briefed on the extent of the damage and sought to evacuate stranded tourists. Nepal has sought medical and rescue teams, India’s foreign secretary S. Jaishankar told reporters.
India dispatched a military plane and disaster management personnel to Nepal, air force spokesman SS Birdi said by phone. It also sent sniffer dogs, equipment to cut through rubble and experts on collapsed structures to Nepal, said Anurag Gupta, joint secretary for operations and communications at India’s National Disaster Management Authority.
An Indian Army Everest expedition team along with Sherpas were safe, Defense Ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar tweeted. Some 18 foreigners died after an avalanche swept through Mount Everest, India’s CNN-IBN reported.
Damaged roads
Strong aftershocks continue to be felt, causing a risk of further damage to many buildings and triggering concern and fear among the local population, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
“Roads have been damaged or blocked by landslides and communication lines are down preventing us from reaching local Red Cross branches to get accurate information," said Jagan Chapagain, the organization’s Asia Pacific director. “We are extremely concerned about the fate of communities in towns and villages in rural areas closer to the epicentre," he said.
The disaster has prompted condolences and promises of aid from world leaders and international disaster-relief organizations.
UK prime minister David Cameron described the deaths as “shocking news" in a separate twitter post. “The UK will do all we can to help those caught up in it," he said.
“Germany stands ready to help in whatever way it can" once it becomes clear what support Nepalese authorities need, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an e- mail.
Singapore will send a 55 man search-and-rescue team to Nepal and some officers from the country’s police force, including officers from its Gurkha contingent, several of whom come from the affected Nepalese regions, a spokesman for the nation’s ministry of foreign affairs said. Bloomberg
Anto Antony and Thomas Kutty Abraham in Mumbai, Kartikay Mehrotra in New Delhi , Cornelius Rahn in Berlin and PTI contributed to this story.
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