Britain doubles aid relief for earthquake survivors

Britain has doubled the amount of aid for areas affected by the weekend’s earthquake in South Asia to £2 million, it has been announced.

Another government-sponsored aid flight, carrying 800 tents and 18,900 blankets, is due to leave the UK this afternoon, departing from Nottingham East Midlands Airport for the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake is continuing to rise. The death in Pakistan is now believed to be between 21 - 23,000, with the worst affected area being Muzaffrabad, the capital of the Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, which was the epicentre of the quake.

The quake, which occurred on Saturday, also affected Indian-controlled Kashmir and it is believed that the death toll there has now risen to more than 1,000.

It is feared that the death toll could rise as high as 40,000. Around 60,000 people are believed to have been injured and the United Nations has estimated that around 2.5 million people have been left homeless.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation of 13 UK charities, including the British Red Cross, Oxfam, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief and Save The Children, has launched an emergency appeal.

Brendan Gormley, DEC Chief Executive said: “Many of our agencies are already working in this part of the world, and we are receiving overwhelming evidence that funds are desperately needed for relief work. Thousands of families are experiencing terrible suffering, particularly children, and we must help in every way we can.”

UK Search and Rescue teams are continuing to work to find survivors in Islamabad and Muzaffrabad, alongside teams from other countries, including Germany, France and Turkey. Forty children were rescued from a school, which collapsed in the town of Bakalot on Monday.

Aid is beginning to reach those areas affected by the earthquake, but progress has reportedly been slow. Torrential rain and landslides, which have blocked many roads, has meant that many people have been left without food, water or electricity since the earthquake struck. Scuffles have reportedly broken out amongst survivors, desperate for supplies.

The UN World Food Programme has mounted a major operation to airlift emergency supplies to Pakistan, with most planes due to arrive later on Tuesday.

In Britain, many people with relatives in the affected areas have been flying out to Pakistan and Kashmir to search for their loved ones. It is understood that the Pakistan High Commission in London has issued hundreds of visas. It is thought that as many as 1.5 million Britons could be affected by the earthquake, with reports that 90,000 people in Birmingham alone originated from the area devastated by the quake.

The telephone number for donations to the DEC’s Asia Quake appeal is: 0870 6060 900.

(KMcA/SP)