Abu Dhabi: An Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) convoy of 100 trucks carrying 1,200 tons of humanitarian assistance left India for Nepal as part of the UAE relief programme to assist victims of the devastating earthquake that hit the country on April 25.

The ERC sent on Tuesday the first batch of relief assistance to Nepal under the instructions of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and follow up of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and ERC Chairman.

The delegation led by its Secretary-General Dr Mohammad Ateq Al Falahi, on a visit to India, had supervised the purchase of relief supplies from Indian local markets, which were sent to Nepalese capital Kathmandu where another ERC team will receive and then distribute them to the affected population in coordination with the Nepalese government and Red Cross.

Al Falahi stated that the aid was part of the UAE’s massive relief programme ordered by the UAE leadership to alleviate suffering and improve living conditions of the quake-affected population.

He emphasised the ERC’s determination to enhance the abilities of those affected to overcome the current difficult circumstances.

The ERC, he added, had immediately swept into action by sending a team to India to secure life-saving humanitarian assistance and ship it to Nepal, stationing at the same time a group of aid workers in Nepal to receive aid shipments and supervise the distribution operations.

‘’The two teams are coordinating relief operations round the clock and this has helped them to have a clear vision of the situation on the ground and set priorities for actual needs on the Nepalese humanitarian front facing a tragic situation,’’ he added.

Al Falahi indicated that the ERC team in India had met with the Nepalese ambassador to New Delhi to assess the urgent relief items in the aftermath of the earthquake, the worst to hit Nepal in decades. The ambassador, he said, had offered necessary facilities to ensure delivery of relief supplies to the affected people as soon as possible.

‘’The ERC is monitoring with grave concern the unspeakable damage the earthquake has left,’’ he said, noting the mounting death toll.

With latest statistics showing that more than one million children have been affected by the earthquake, he said, the ERC would allocate significant resources to fulfil the needs of mothers and children.