UAE preparing to send follow-up rescue teams

Multan: With the UAE military already playing a key role in relief efforts in Pakistan, the UAE government is assessing the situation and is preparing to send follow-up teams for the second stage of operations which include recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation, which according to rough estimates requires more than $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion).

The UAE sent three Chinook helicopters on August 6 to bolster the relief efforts in Pakistan.

"Arrival of UAE army personnel with three Chinook helicopters have given a big lift to rescue and relief operation in this area and we are grateful to the UAE government for their timely help," said Lt Col Nadeem Aslam yesterday while briefing a UAE media team at the Multan airbase in Pakistan.

Aerial survey

The media team was flown to Pakistan to assess the scale of damage caused by floods in southern Punjab.

The aerial tour of the affected areas showed that a swathe of land 45 km wide and 125 km long in the south of Punjab province covering five districts along the River Indus and River Chenab has been completed submerged rendering more than two million people homeless and bringing economic activity to a grinding halt.

The UAE chose to participate in southern Punjab as it also has several other projects relating to education, health and poverty alleviation in the area, especially in Rahim Yar Khan.

Some 42 personnel from the Special Operation Command Aviation of UAE Armed forces are performing relief duties round the clock. "Their [UAE soldiers'] efforts and hard work is commendable as they are putting extra efforts and have managed to save hundreds of lives," said Lt Col Aslam.

Speaking to Gulf News, the in-charge of the UAE army relief team, who is not authorised to speak to the media, said the UAE relief team is doing all it can to save lives. "We are rescuing people trapped in floods and also provide relief goods including food, medicines, water and tents to flood victims in far off areas," the official said, adding that scale of the disaster calls for much more assistance than what is currently forthcoming.

A Chinook pilot from the UAE army said that pilots do an average of four to five sorties (flights) considering the gravity of the situation. "Soldiers are working extra hours even though they are also fasting. Our morale is high and we are doing our best to help people in this huge humanitarian crisis in Pakistan," he said.

"The aid is not enough at all compared to the scale of disaster but we are doing whatever we can given the available resources," said Tarek Bukhari, political agent of D.G Khan and in-charge of the flood relief camp in Taunsa area along Indus River, where the UAE helicopters are engaged in sorties to drop relief as all the road links to the area, which is some 150 km from Multan, have been cut off due to flooding.

Thousands of people are living in camps fighting for basic needs such as food and medical care as threats of spreading epidemics are looming.

"Lot more needs be done. International community should come forward and join hands in this testing time for our country," the official added.

Punjab: ground situation