Rescue experts, medical teams, sniffer dogs and supplies were being mobilized yesterday as a worldwide effort cranked into gear to bring aid to victims of a massive earthquake that struck South Asia.
Japan, the US and the EU were among the first to offer manpower and financial aid to Pakistan, India and Afghanistan following Saturday's quake, which is believed to have killed more than 30,000 people.
Japanese relief
Pakistan was worst hit and the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Tokyo had sent a 50-strong emergency relief team to the Islamic republic.
In the UK, which has a large South Asian community, the government said that it was sending an initial ?100,000 (US$176,000) to Pakistani authorities.
UK rescue experts
Search and rescue teams from four firefighting forces across Britain were also headed to the region and Defence Secretary John Reid said British troops in Afghanistan were "ready to assist if required."
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the dispatch of up to 60 staff was an initial offering. British Muslim charities have also pledged hundreds of thousands of pounds in aid.
Additional search and rescue teams were also being sent from France, Turkey -- which itself is prone to violent earthquakes -- Greece and Switzerland.
The Japanese team included police, disaster management and coast guard specialists whose skills have been honed dealing with the country's regular temblors.
They would be engaged in search and rescue operations as well as information gathering, the ministry said in a statement.
The Japanese Red Cross was also sending four medical specialists to Islamabad as an advance team to investigate the extent of the damage caused by the quake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale.
Shortly after news of the tragedy began filtering out of the region, European ministers offered financial aid as well as rescue teams.
The EU's executive arm said it had set aside 3 million euros (US$3.6 million) of immediate emergency relief aid.
"We are all hoping that the news does not get steadily worse ... but we are fearful that the casualty figures may mount," EU aid commissioner Louis Michel said.
Paris was sending sniffer dogs and cutting gear, while the Irish government said it would provide 1 million euros to the relief effort.
Berlin said it had made 50,000 euros available to Pakistani authorities through its embassy in Islamabad.
US aid
The US was swift to offer help and President George W. Bush said Washington was already mobilizing teams of experts to help the rescue effort and also made available US$100,000 in immediate emergency aid.
"Our initial deployments of assistance are under way, and we stand ready to provide additional assistance as needed. My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this horrible tragedy," Bush said.
Further help was offered from Australia, which said it had provided A$380,000 (US$288,000) for immediate medical and relief assistance, and from Abu Dhabi, which has sent a team of police officers.
The UN children's agency UNICEF said it was sending aid supply trucks from the southern city of Karachi toward Pakistan's quake-hit northern areas and deploying an assessment team to decide what further help was needed.
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