Taiwan's Tzu Chi Foundation delivers medical aid to flood-hit Nepal

Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) Taiwan-based Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation's Nepali chapter sent a medical team and delivered emergency aid and sanitation kits on Saturday to assist flood victims and rescue workers, while coordinating additional supplies from its regional chapters.

The team, composed of local medical personnel, headed to Dhading District, about 87 kilometers west of the capital, Kathmandu, the foundation said.

The death toll from Wednesday's catastrophic flash flood, which was triggered by a glacier collapse, rose to 676 after Nepali authorities updated figures Saturday. Nearly 3,000 people remain missing, according to The Associated Press.

Tzu Chi said it deployed the team after its advance teams scouted the affected areas on Thursday and Friday to assess emergency needs on the ground.

An advance team reported that more than 100 households in a village in the Galchhi area of Dhading District lacked basic necessities, prompting the foundation to deliver blankets, bottled water and dry food rations to affected residents, Tzu Chi said.

Tzu Chi Foundation has also delivered 120 protective suits, face masks and medical gloves to assist military, police and healthcare personnel recovering bodies, while arranging for further relief supplies from its Singapore chapter, it added.

The foundation's headquarters in Taiwan has also prepared relief supplies and is ready to deploy additional aid as local transport conditions permit, it said.

Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNA that it extended its condolences to Nepal over the tragedy and expressed readiness to support disaster relief and recovery efforts.