RSAF, S’pore Red Cross step up aid relief in Nepal
RSAF personnel loading supplies onto an RSAF C-130. Photo: MINDEF
SINGAPORE – All 220 Singaporeans in quake-stricken Nepal who had registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) are accounted for and safe, the ministry said yesterday.
Before Monday’s earthquake, only 58 Singaporeans in Nepal had registered with the ministry through its eRegister. “The number escalated to over 220 Singaporeans after the earthquake. Through the assistance of our Crisis Response Team at the Kathmandu International Airport, more than 100 have returned to Singapore over the past few days on the RSAF and commercial flights,” said an MFA spokesperson.
Meanwhile, another two Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 planes were headed to Nepal yesterday with additional supplies and personnel, said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).
On board the two aircraft which left yesterday morning were food and water supplies, medical supplies, as well as six additional Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel from the Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre. They were joined by eight personnel from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF).
In a short Facebook post yesterday afternoon, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said one of the aircraft had already landed in Kathmandu, the capital. The Singapore team will help the Nepalese Multinational Military Coordination Centre to better orchestrate recovery efforts, said Dr Ng.
The RBAF personnel will join the SAF medical team deployed to Gokarna town, to provide medical assistance to the earthquake victims there, MINDEF added.
Local humanitarian organisation Mercy Relief and the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) have also sent their first medical teams to Nepal.
Mercy Relief said yesterday it had sent a medical team of two doctors and two nurses, along with 350kg worth of supplies, surgical tools and equipment. Joining the organisation’s disaster response team already in Kathmandu, Mercy Relief’s medical team will be able to attend to over 300 patients a day.
“As search and rescue workers from all over the world dedicate themselves to saving those who may be trapped but still alive, Mercy Relief is supporting them by directly supplying medical personnel and supplies,” said its chairman Michael Tay, who arrived in Kathmandu yesterday.
The SRC said its medical teams in Nepal are looking to operate and establish mobile medical clinics with two to three doctors each, and will work the Nepal Red Cross and the SRC’s other partners.
The SRC’s first medical team, comprising three doctors, one nurse, one paramedic and one operations specialist, is due to arrive at noon today.
They will be bringing with them supplies such as medication, medical equipment for simple dressing and minor surgical procedures, as well as emergency and resuscitative equipment. Three other medical teams will also arrive next week.
Mr Tay said Mercy Relief is also planning to send a second medical team with two orthopaedic surgeons on Sunday.
“Most of Kathmandu’s population are now living in inadequate sanitary conditions in tent cities. Overcrowded facilities pose a latent risk for epidemics. The lack of health services intensifies fears of an outbreak of cholera and other water-borne diseases,” he added.
Given such fears, the SRC said a staff member will be joining a disaster response team from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to provide a better assessment of the critical water and sanitation needs on the ground.
As of yesterday evening, the SRC said it had received more than S$1.1 million in cash and cheque donations, as well as through online platforms like SG Gives.
Mercy Relief has also raised S$340,000 for its Nepal Earthquake Relief fund-raising campaign.
