U.S. announces more aid to Nepal

The Obama administration on Monday announced more aid to quake-jolted Nepal, with some U.S. military personnel already joining the relief effort in the Himalayan country.

Secretary of State John Kerry pledged an additional 9 million dollars for "response and recovery" efforts, on top of one million dollars released on Saturday to address immediate humanitarian needs in Nepal, where a 7.9-magnitude quake befell that day and has killed 3,904 people and injured some 7,180 others.

"We're sending a nearly 130-person disaster-assistance response team to conduct assessments, coordinate the humanitarian response and provide search-and-rescue capabilities along with 45 tons of cargo," State Department spokesman Jeffrey Rathke said at a daily news briefing.

He said the additional 9 million dollars will be used to fund U. S. relief effort in Nepal.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said some U.S. military personnel, who were sent to Nepal for a previously scheduled training exercise, are "using their equipment and their tremendous expertise to assist in the recovery effort."

"And this is everything from providing urgent logistical assistance to even, in some cases, rendering medical assistance to those who have been harmed in the earthquake," he told reporters at a daily press briefing.

Rathke said four Americans were killed in the region of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest, where an avalanche triggered by the quake has killed at least 17 climbers and injured 61 others.

The powerful quake also jolted and inflicted casualties in neighboring India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Endite