People sit with their belongings outside a damaged temple
IN PHOTO: People sit with their belongings outside a damaged temple in Bashantapur Durbar Square after a major earthquake hit Kathmandu, Nepal April 25, 2015. A shallow earthquake measuring 7.9 magnitude struck west of the ancient Nepali capital of Kathmandu on Saturday, killing more than 100 people, injuring hundreds and leaving a pall over the valley, doctors and witnesses said. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

To complement the relief work in disaster-hit Nepal, the U.K. has decided to send three Royal Air Force or R.A.F. CH47 Chinook aircraft there. This is coupled with the 2.5 million pounds given by the U.K. to the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service. This would help in making aid supplies reach the remotest corners of the disaster-hit zones of the country.

Nepal has many of its roads blocked and vital infrastructure damaged. These military and UN choppers will assist by plying people and aid supplies across the length and breadth of Nepal. This would help humanitarian supplies in reaching every nook and corner of those zones that are hard to reach and are desperate for aid.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening has said, “These highly versatile Royal Air Force helicopters and UN aircraft will mean life-saving aid supplies can be moved around Nepal and reach people in remote communities cut off by the earthquake who are in desperate need.” The Department for International Development or the DfID told the BBC that the first Chinook will be sent out on Friday, and the remaining two would be sent after that.

Meanwhile, nearly 300 of British citizens have been helped since the fatal earthquake hit the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. An aid flight with almost 120 Britons on board from Nepal to the U.K. landed on Thursday. The Foreign Office has also confirmed that two of its teams, have helped rescue eight British nationals.

According to the BBC, an appeal made by the Disasters Emergency Committee or the D.E.C. has successfully collected over 19 million pounds in the U.K. This includes public donations worth 14 million pounds and 5 million pounds from the government, which matched the first 5 million pounds of public donations. Apart from this, the British government has pledged 15 million pounds to aid the relief mission in Nepal.

Besides this, members of a 60-strong U.K. International Search and Rescue or the U.K.I.S.A.R. team have also begun to look out for victims on the ground with specialist rescue dogs.

The writer can be contacted at ritambanati@yahoo.com

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