Headlines
Quake claims 34 lives in India
New Delhi, April 25
At least 34 people died in
India on Saturday due to the massive earthquake that had its epicentre
in Nepal, the home ministry said.
"As per the latest information,
34 deaths have been confirmed so far, with 23 deaths in Bihar, eight in
Uttar Pradesh and three in West Bengal," the ministry said in a
statement.
In order to deal with the situation in the affected
states, five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have
already been sent -- one to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and one each to
Darbhanga, Supaul, Motihari and Gopalganj in Bihar.
The statement
said the impact of the earthquake was felt in almost all northern
states in India, particularly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and West
Bengal.
The ministry has been in constant touch with all the
affected states to assess the situation. Each team of the NDRF consists
of 45 personnel who are fully equipped with modern equipment to deal
with search and rescue operations.
The team also includes medical
and paramedic personnel. The teams have equipment such as live detector
machines, cutters which can cut steel, concrete and wood.
The
statement said the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) in the
cabinet secretariat has already met and reviewed the situation through
video-conferencing with the chief secretaries of the affected states.
The
NCMC will be meeting regularly to take stock of the situation and the
relief measures. The central government was in constant touch with the
states and monitoring the situation very closely.
The states will be provided with all possible help from the central government, the statement added.