UN praises relief efforts in Nepal despite partial airport closure
A UN official has commended the continued arrival of aid in earthquake-hit Nepal, despite the partial closure of its only international airport due to damage.
Nepal was forced to close Tribhuwan International Airport, located on the outskirts of the capital, Kathmandu, to big jets on Sunday as its sole runway cannot handle the strain of the stream of large aircraft flying in on humanitarian missions or carrying incoming journalists.
The UN coordinator for Nepal, Jamie McGoldrick, praised all the relief efforts despite the partial shutdown of the airport, saying the bottlenecks in aid delivery were slowly disappearing.
“You’ve got one runway, and you’ve got limited handling facilities, and you’ve got the ongoing commercial flights. You put on top of that massive relief items coming in, the search and rescue teams that have clogged up this airport. And I think once they put better systems in place, I think that will get better,” McGoldrick said.
Nepalese officials have eased the red tape on the flow of humanitarian aid following complaints from the UN.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the April 25 earthquake has reached 7,276.
Nepal’s Tourist Police has also reported that a total of 57 foreigners have been killed in the quake, and 109 are still missing, including 12 Russians and nine Americans.
Search and rescue operations are still underway, with little hope for finding any more survivors almost ten days after the quake.
Meanwhile, the displaced are being vaccinated against measles as a slow flow of relief supplies to mountainous areas has raised fears of an outbreak of the disease.
The UN says the quake has affected more than a quarter of Nepal’s 28 million people.
XLS/HJL/HRB
Islamophobia surged since Bondi mass shooting: Australian official
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, dies at 80
N. Korea, Russia bound in ‘blood of war’: Kim tells Putin in New Year note
Hamas: Israel escalating ceasefire violations in Gaza
Venezuela's government declares unwavering unity behind Maduro
VIDEO | Global outcry over Venezuela president abduction
Iran keeps wheat import subsidies despite cutting other food supports
Venezuelan military stands with acting president after US kidnapping of Maduro
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
VIDEO | Protesters in Toronto slam US kidnapping of Venezuelan president
Israeli troops detain, intimidate Palestinian toddler in West Bank
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
