Nepal quake: Assam forms special team to help victims

Days after the devastating earthquake in Nepal, Assam on Wednesday set up a special disaster management team for extending services to the people from the state who were in the Himalayan country when the temblor struck.

The team will coordinate with the authorities of the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, the home and external affairs ministries, the National Disaster Response Force and the Nepal government in tracing out missing people, assisting the injured, evacuation of bodies, stranded and injured people.

The team, led by Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) S.N. Singh, and comprising doctors and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel will immediately proceed to Kathmandu by road with necessary personnel, vehicles, medicines etc., the government said on Wednesday.

The state government has already sent Additional Director General of Police Umesh Kumar to Kathmandu, and he has been liaising with the Indian embassy and local authorities in Kathmandu to locate the whereabouts of the missing people, to ensure proper medical assistance to the injured, and their safe return to Assam.

Meanwhile, the bodies of six women who died during the tremor reached Guwahati on Wednesday and were handed over to their family members.

SDRF officials said 140 people from Assam, who were in Nepal during the quake, have been tracked down.

"While six are dead, 110 have reached either New Delhi or their residences in Assam. At least 21 others are still in Nepal waiting to evacuated and three are admitted in hospitals in Nepal," an SDRF official said.