Danes lead UN quake response in Nepal
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 27 Apr, 2015 CET.
Updated: Mon 27 Apr 2015 13:37 CET
Three dozen Danes are still unaccounted for after Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal, which left over 3,500 people dead, as Denmark sends a team of experts and IT equipment to run UN communications centres.
The Danish Foreign Ministry said at midday on Monday that of the 280 Danes thought to have been in Nepal at the time Saturday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit, there are still 35 Danes unaccounted for.
“We are working around the clock to make contact with them,” ministry spokesman Ole Egeborg Mikkelsen told public broadcaster DR.
Mikkelsen said that the ministry is only aware of one Dane, an unidentified woman, being injured in the quake. The woman was flown to a Kathmandu hospital on Sunday.
At least 3,617 people are known to have died in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which hit Nepal on Saturday, April 25th, while more than 6,500 have been injured, many forced to spend the night outdoors after their homes were destroyed.
Some of Kathmandu’s most historic sites have been flattened in the quake, among them the 19th century Dharahara Tower and many buildings in the capital’s historic Durbar square.
Development Minister Mogens Jensen said immediately after the quake that Denmark would send five million kroner ($730,000) in emergency aid to Nepal. That number has since been upped to 6.25 million kroner ($907,500) and may increase further.
A team of eight Danes are en route to Nepal along with IT equipment that will facilitate three UN communications centres in Kathmandu.
“The UN’s emergency help coordination has asked us to establish an operations center. The UN is sending experts there to lead the international help that arrives. We will deliver a fully-operational center that they can use for their efforts,” Peter Kragh from the Danish Emergency Management Agency (Beredskabsstyrelsen) told TV2 News.
The Red Cross of Denmark said late on Sunday that private donations from Denmark have already passed the one million kroner mark. To support the Red Cross’s efforts in Nepal, you can text the word ‘Nepal’ to 1240 to make a 100 kroner donation or contribute via their website.
Comments
See Also
The Danish Foreign Ministry said at midday on Monday that of the 280 Danes thought to have been in Nepal at the time Saturday’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit, there are still 35 Danes unaccounted for.
“We are working around the clock to make contact with them,” ministry spokesman Ole Egeborg Mikkelsen told public broadcaster DR.
Mikkelsen said that the ministry is only aware of one Dane, an unidentified woman, being injured in the quake. The woman was flown to a Kathmandu hospital on Sunday.
At least 3,617 people are known to have died in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which hit Nepal on Saturday, April 25th, while more than 6,500 have been injured, many forced to spend the night outdoors after their homes were destroyed.
Some of Kathmandu’s most historic sites have been flattened in the quake, among them the 19th century Dharahara Tower and many buildings in the capital’s historic Durbar square.
Development Minister Mogens Jensen said immediately after the quake that Denmark would send five million kroner ($730,000) in emergency aid to Nepal. That number has since been upped to 6.25 million kroner ($907,500) and may increase further.
A team of eight Danes are en route to Nepal along with IT equipment that will facilitate three UN communications centres in Kathmandu.
“The UN’s emergency help coordination has asked us to establish an operations center. The UN is sending experts there to lead the international help that arrives. We will deliver a fully-operational center that they can use for their efforts,” Peter Kragh from the Danish Emergency Management Agency (Beredskabsstyrelsen) told TV2 News.
The Red Cross of Denmark said late on Sunday that private donations from Denmark have already passed the one million kroner mark. To support the Red Cross’s efforts in Nepal, you can text the word ‘Nepal’ to 1240 to make a 100 kroner donation or contribute via their website.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.