Japan dispatches disaster relief team to Pakistan

Japan sent a disaster relief team to Pakistan on Sunday to provide emergency assistance after a huge earthquake centered there killed more than 18,000 people. The team of about 50 disaster relief officials was expected to arrive in Islamabad late Sunday and help with rescue operations in areas hit hard by Saturday's magnitude-7.6 quake, according to Hisanobu Mochizuki, an official at the Foreign Ministry's international emergency aid section.
A medical team will be sent to Islamabad Monday, he said.

The government is considering providing supplies to Pakistan, Mochizuki said, but no final decisions were made yet. Separately, the Japanese Red Cross Society decided to dispatch a medical team to Islamabad to assess the damage. The team, including doctors and a nurse, was expected to arrive in Islamabad Monday, it said in a statement. The Red Cross also pledged 15 million yen (US$132,000; 109,000) in cash for emergency aid.

Two Japanese died after a 10-story apartment building in Islamabad collapsed Saturday. Satoru Narahara, an employee of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and his son were killed. His wife was rescued, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.


Source: Jerusalem Post