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Three Navy ships pressed into relief work

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Three ships of the Indian Navy have been pressed into earthquake relief operations.

While INS Ganga will ferrying the injured from Kutch to Bombay, two other ships, INS Sutlej and INS Nirdheshak have also been pressed into relief work, Union agriculture secretary Bhaskar Baruah told the media on Sunday afternoon.

Briefing reporters after the crisis management group meet on Sunday, Baruah said, "A few private hospitals from Bombay like Jaslok and Hinduja have also offered free treatment to the injured along with one attendant."

Meanwhile, rescue and search teams along with specialists and sniffer dogs from abroad have left for Bhuj, scene of the worst destruction. These include 69 specialists from the UK, four teams from Turkey, 45 from Switzerland and 73 personnel from Russia.

Baruah pointed out that 110,000 tons of food-grains was available in the earthquake affected areas and 36,000 blankets have already been sent to Gujarat. Another 92,000 blankets are in the pipeline and approximately 11,000 tents have already been sent.

Besides that, "the armed forces have set up a field hospital with 340 beds. Field ambulances along with surgeons are also operating," he added.

The Voluntary Health Association of India has sent 10 mobile hospitals to Bhuj and ten more will reach Bhuj on Tuesday. The central government has sent 100 stretchers, one lakh bandages and 70 units of blood. He also said lots of heavy equipment to clear the debris has been sent to Bhuj, including 15 earth-movers and related rescue equipment.

Pointed out that the situation in Bhuj was still serious, Baruah said the official figure is 6,072 dead and 14,512 injured, but he reiterated that the figure is likely to go up considerably.

The Complete Coverage

EXTERNAL LINKS
The RD Killer Quake of Jan 26, 2001: Technical details
All about earthquakes in India and their impact
India Meteorological Department's earthquake reports
Disaster relief set-up in India
Major earthquakes across the world in recent times
A post-quake volunteer's unusual tryst with the departed
Earthquake News: Web site offering comprehensive news, information and features
Earthquake site map
USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program

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