British copters begin Pakistan flights to rush aid to quake victims (AP) Updated: 2005-11-16 16:37
Two British military helicopters on Wednesday joined an increasingly urgent
push to send tents, food and other supplies to victims of last month's
earthquake that killed more than 86,000 people and devastated large parts of
mountainous northern Pakistan.
Medical teams, meanwhile, have moved into a new clinic built to isolate
victims of a major dysentery outbreak at a crowded refugee camp in Muzaffarabad,
the quake-shattered capital of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.
Hundreds of people had been hospitalized with severe dehydration as a result
of poor hygiene in the camp, but new cases have since fallen to just a few dozen
daily, medical workers said.
The newly arrived British heavy-lift Chinooks join a fleet of about 80
helicopters being operated by a variety of governments and aid agencies in one
of the biggest-ever helicopter airlifts of aid. The British choppers will fly
nine-hour daily missions over the next three days, initially delivering 450 tons
of tents, blankets, cooking supplies and mattresses to remote mountain villages
that have been cut off by landslides. Later flights will focus on food aid.
"Winter's on its way. The snow line is coming down day by day," British flyer
Steve Shell said between takeoffs at Muzaffarabad's tiny airport, carved out of
the mountains surrounding the city.
The United Nations warned last month it might have to cut back flights due to
a lack of funds, but on Tuesday said a fresh cash injection of US$14 million
(euro12 million) will sustain food drops for at least two more months.
The October 8 quake destroyed the homes of about 3 million people, leaving
hundreds of thousands living in tents while an unknown number have yet to
receive shelter of any kind.
Hygiene among refugees is poor and medical workers at the sprawling camp on a
sports field at Muzaffarabad's destroyed university have constructed a new
clinic across the street with its own latrines and sanitation equipment. Doctors
said that was helping contain the dysentery outbreak, with just 45 new cases
reported on Wednesday.
The old clinic inside the camp "was just squalid," said Dr. John Watson of
the World Health Organization.
With the focus turning to long-term reconstruction, relief officials will
meet in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, starting Friday to discuss long-term
funding for the effort, expected to cost about US$5.2 billion (euro4.4 billion).
The United Nations says it needs US$550 million (euro470 million) in emergency
aid, but donors have pledged only US$131 million (euro112
million).
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