Trapped Vietnamese nationals in Nepal receive support

The Vietnamese Embassy to India has contacted six out of a total 20 Vietnamese nationals who were travelling in Nepal at time of the deadly earthquake on April 25, Minister Counsellor of the embassy Tran Quang Tuyen said on April 26.

People are seen running on to the streets once again as a major aftershock strikes the crisis-hit nation. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

He told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that the group of six people were staying at temporary shelters and provided with hotline numbers for better support. The situation of the others remains uncertain.

The embassy is working with foreign ministries of India and Nepal to help these survivors leave the country safely.

Local officials said the 7.8 magnitude quake has killed at least 3,218 and injured other 6,500, making it the deadliest disaster in Nepal for more than 80 years. Around 90 people have been killed in neighbouring countries, including at least 67 in India and 20 in China.

Hundreds of mountaineers had gathered on Mount Everest for the start of the annual climbing season, and the real scale of the disaster there has been impossible to evaluate with communication all but cut off.

Rescue teams from countries all over the world, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Finland, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Japan, China, Algeria, Singapore and Israel, have been pouring into Nepal, bringing with them large quantities of aid.

The United States said it sent an aircraft to Nepal with 70 personnel and 45 tonnes of aid on board on April 26. More supplies will leave for Nepal in the next few days.

Russia has also dispatched 90 aid workers and search and rescue apparatus to the Himalayan nation, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said.

The international medical humanitarian organisation, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has set up a field hospital which has a 60-80 bed capacity to take care earthquake victims.

The International Monetary Funds (IMF), together with the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), have sent a group of experts to assist Nepal in assessing impacts of the tragic earthquake to its economy and to identify financial needs.

The European Commission on April 26 released 3 million EUR (3.25 million USD) in emergency aid for Nepal while British International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced a 5 million GBP (7.6 million USD) support package.

(Source: VNA)