Spotlight: Chinese deliver care, warmth in quake-hit Nepal

The disastrous earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25 has left more than 7,300 dead, 14,000 others injured, and hundreds of thousands homeless in the heavily-populated Kathmandu valley and nearby areas. The South Asian mountain country did suffer a lot.

As the sudden natural and humanitarian disaster struck, China, as one of Nepal's immediate neighbors, swiftly acted while it strove to launch rescue operations in its quake-impacted Tibet Autonomous Region, dispatching dozens of rescue squads and medical teams to Nepal to extend a helping hand to the country which is short of disaster relief resources and means.

GOVERNMENT ARRANGES RELIEF AID

One day after the earthquake hit, a Chinese team consisting of over 60 rescuers, medical workers and earthquake experts landed in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, which was the first heavy-equipped international rescue team recognized by the United Nations.

Upon their arrival, the Chinese rescue workers immediately rushed to the worst-hit areas and six hours later they rescued a survivor and 34 hours later they excavated another survivor, a man who had been trapped for 62 hours.

Under the arrangement of the UN and the Nepalese government, the Chinese rescue teams have begun to coordinate the rescue operation west of Kathmandu, where teams from Russia, Romania, Malaysia and Singapore also have arrived.

Meanwhile, currently there are five state-level medical teams from China working in Nepal.

Arriving on April 27, a Chinese government's medical team rapidly set up makeshift operation rooms and tent wards. So far, it has received more than 700 patients.

Arriving in the quake-hit area on April 30, a 18-member medical team sent by the Red Cross Society of China drove to the rural areas everyday. So far, it has treated more than 700 injured people.

Also, a 172-member team from the People's Liberation Army of China has arrived in Nepal, carrying 40 tons of relief goods, including 95 electricity generators and more than 300 tents.

Meanwhile, Chinese medical teams stationed in Nepal also joined in the rescue operations in the increasingly warm weather as the risk of epidemic spread rises.

Chinese medical workers are sparing no efforts to train local medical workers for epidemic prevention and control.

At the request of the Nepalese government, a group of medical workers from southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region entered Nepal via Zham Port around 11 a.m. on Monday to help prevent disease outbreaks in border areas.

A 500-member road-repairing brigade of the Chinese People's Armed Police, along with 180 engineering machines entered Nepal on Sunday to help restore the 114 km road link from Zham Port to Kathmandu.

CIVIL GROUPS FULL OF "POSITIVE ENERGY"

Besides the official Chinese rescue teams, a dozen of rescue teams organized by Chinese civil groups also can be seen in Nepal. As part of Chinese rescue forces, they kept close coordinations with local residents and citizens of Chinese origin and have played a role that can not be neglected.

China's Blue Sky Rescue (BSR) Team swiftly selected scores of elite ones from its 30,000 members around China after the quake in Nepal and rushed to the earthquake-struck areas.

In Machha Pokhari area of Kathmandu, it has been working with the Nepalese army at two sites, where several victims were confirmed to be buried. The badly damaged buildings were leaning forward and could collapse at any time, but its members dived into the bottom and tried to discover and pull out bodies.

As of Monday, the team has discovered and excavated 16 bodies of the victims.

At a collapsed six-story building near a bridge in Kathmandu, another Chinese civil rescue team worked together with their counterparts from India and other countries to discover and retrieve bodies of the quake victims. The team from China played a key role as teams of other countries lacked precision detecting devices.

After the earthquake jolted Nepal, many residents and citizens of Chinese origin who lived and worked in Nepal also joined in the rescue operations.

In the Tamil area of Kathmandu, Chinese restaurants, like "Jia Lin Ge", volunteered to offer drinks and meals to Chinese rescue and medical teams. Two young volunteers from Guangzhou, China, managed to send 132 bags of rice to the area.

UN SEES CHINA'S ASSISTANCE REASSURING

China's comprehensive assistance to the quake-hit Nepal has drawn worldwide applause, including that from UN officials and Nepalese officials and citizens.

The Chinese medical team that has been providing assistance in quake-stricken Nepal is highly efficient in conducting operations, Valerie Amo, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said on Saturday.

"It was very reassuring to see the very high quality of work they've done. They have conducted a great deal of operations," Amo told Xinhua.

The remarks were made after Amo inspected a tent hospital in the Dhulikhel town, some 30 km east of the national capital, where a 58-member Chinese government medical team have been treating quake victims since their arrival on April 27.

Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav has expressed gratitude to the Chinese government and people for supporting his country after a powerful earthquake.

"I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the people of China...for the support that we have got here in this difficult time of natural calamities," said President Yadav in his office, which was also partly damaged in the quake.

The president praised the expertise of the Chinese quake-relief teams.

On Friday noon, Mahesh Nasnet, Nepal's minister of industry, paid a visit to a base of a Chinese military medical team in the downtown Kathmandu and conveyed the gratitude message to the Chinese medical soldiers.

He said, on the Labor Day, that he sincerely appreciates the hard efforts of the Chinese medical soldiers in rescuing Nepal's victims.

Nasnet also expressed his gratitude to the hardworking Chinese soldiers who are offering medical supports to the quake victims in Nepal. Endi