Kathmandu: As India continues to extend humanitarian assistance to Nepal following the disastrous flash floods that has killed over 1,100 people in the Himalayan nation, a fifth Indian Air Force (IAF) plane landed in Nepal on Wednesday, carrying an 11-member rescue team with specialised equipment and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the fresh tranche of relief material was handed over to the local government by Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava.
The aid supports the ongoing response to catastrophic flash floods that struck Nepal following a glacial collapse in Tibet on August 26.
Earlier in the day, taking to X, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said, “The fifth Indian aircraft has departed for Nepal. It is carrying a 11-member rescue team with specialised equipment, and 5.5 tonnes of essential medicines.”
India has rushed over 68 tonnes of emergency relief materials and specialised rescue teams to support Nepal following devastating flash floods.
Deliveries include blankets, sleeping bags, heavy-duty tarpaulins, plastic sheeting, and hygiene kits. The supplies also include essential medicines, food packets, solar lamps, water purification tablets, and portable generators.
At least 1,114 bodies swept away by last week’s floods had been recovered by 9 am Wednesday, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). Around 3,916 people still remain out of contact.
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday called for stronger international attention to growing climate-related risks in the Himalayan region as the death toll from devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi River crossed 1,100.
Addressing the House of Representatives, Shah said Nepal must highlight more forcefully the disasters it is facing due to climate change.
Experts said an avalanche blocked the Lengde Khola, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi River near the Nepal-China border. The accumulated water later breached the natural barrier, triggering a massive flood that swept downstream towards the Trishuli River and devastated settlements and infrastructure.
Shah said the disaster had raised questions about how such an event occurred and what it meant for Nepal’s future.
“The huge disaster, whose impacts of climate change we have suddenly experienced, has kept us working around the clock to manage the damage. At the same time, another profound question has arisen in our minds: How did this disaster come upon us?” he questioned.
(IANS)
