New Delhi offers medical personnel, engineering teams, Bailey bridges and NDRF support as Nepal prioritises specialised assistance over foreign-led rescue operationsNEW DELHI — India is preparing additional humanitarian and technical assistance for flood-hit Nepal following requests from Kathmandu, as the Himalayan nation continues to respond to one of its worst natural disasters in recent years.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the planned assistance includes medical personnel, tunnel-rescue specialists, engineering teams and equipment to help restore infrastructure damaged by the catastrophic floods.
The announcement came after Nepal indicated that its own security agencies would continue leading general search-and-rescue operations. Kathmandu, however, clarified that it remained open to receiving specialised expertise and technical support from international partners.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had already dispatched two aircraft carrying relief supplies, while a third humanitarian flight was being prepared.
“As requested by Nepal, we are preparing to send a tunnel rescue team, for which a reconnaissance team is being flown in first to assess the situation on the ground and determine the equipment required,” Jaiswal said.
India is also preparing to deploy a medical team and has offered Bailey bridges, together with the technical personnel needed to install them, to quickly reconnect communities cut off by the destruction of roads and bridges.
New Delhi has separately offered to send teams from India’s National Disaster Response Force, along with specialised equipment, to assist the ongoing search for survivors.
“We await a response from the Government of Nepal on this front. We stand ready to offer any assistance that the Nepalese authorities might require,” Jaiswal said.
Nepalese foreign ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Paudel Chhetri earlier said the country did not immediately require foreign teams for general rescue work because its army, police and other security agencies were managing the operation.
He later clarified that Nepal was not rejecting international assistance altogether.
“If Nepal needs any specialised help or expertise, then we will request it,” Chhetri said.
The distinction appears to be between foreign teams participating in the wider search-and-rescue operation and specialised assistance requested by Nepal for technical challenges, medical care and the restoration of critical infrastructure.
India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were among the countries that reportedly approached Kathmandu with offers of assistance.
The floods, triggered by a glacier collapse near the Nepal–Tibet border, swept away settlements and severely damaged roads, bridges, hydropower facilities and communication networks. The number of casualties and missing persons has continued to rise as rescuers gain access to previously isolated areas.
Updated reports on Saturday placed the death toll above 630 across Nepal and Tibet, with nearly 3,000 people still unaccounted for. Nepal has reportedly sought international assistance in specialised areas including tunnel rescue, reopening transport and communication routes, identifying victims and monitoring unstable glacial lakes. (Reuters, The Kathmandu Post)
