Malaysia To Deploy 30 SMART Members To Nepal

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will be deploying 30 members from the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) together with the necessary equipment to Nepal. Prime Minister Najib Razak said the team and equipment will be sent in the shortest time possible. He said the Malaysian government was aware that search and rescue operations were still ongoing in Nepal due to the devastating earthquake which hit the country and the northern Indian region Saturday. "We will be deploying 30 members from the SMART together with the necessary equipment to Nepal in the shortest time possible. "We have also secured the services of 20 medical doctors from our volunteer relief organizations – MERCY Malaysia and the Malaysian Red Crescent Society who will depart alongside the SMART members together with medicines and medical supplies onboard a Royal Malaysian Air Force C130 aircraft," he said in his latest posting on his blog, NajibRazak.com on Sunday. The C130 aircraft will also be on standby there to evacuate all Malaysians who are stranded in the region and they will be brought home to Kuala Lumpur safely, he said. "On behalf of Malaysia, I extend my condolences to those who lost family members and friends in the earthquake. Malaysia will continue to provide all possible assistance to Nepal in overcoming this disaster," he added. -- BERNAMA