British troops sent to help in Pakistan

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32460, 21 November 1970, Page 1

British troops sent to help in Pakistan

(N.Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright)

SINGAPORE, November 20.

Britain today began a huge aid movement from Singapore that will carry 650 troops, four helicopters, four ships and dozens of small boats to East Pakistan in the wake of last week’s tidal wave disaster.

With fears of mass starvation in East Pakistan growing hour by hour, senior officials in Dacca today issued urgent new orders to spur relief work into full flow.

A conference was held at Dacca last night to quicken the dispatch to the coastal areas of the mountains of international aid that have been pouring into Dacca Airport. Hardly any of the food, medicines, blankets and other life-saving supplies which have come in from all parts of the world has so far been

channelled to the disaster; zone—mainly because off transport problems. If the aid does not get to|: the area quickly it is feared)]

that the spectre of widespread starvation and disease could quickly become a reality and make the cyclone and tidal wave the biggest killer of any natural disaster in recorded history. The official toll now is more than 200,000 dead, but ' local newspaper estimates have put it as between 1.500,000 and 2,000,000. The previous worst natural disaster was in 1887, when 900,000 died in China’s Yellow River floods.

R.A.F. Hercules Three Royal Air Force i Hercules with two helicopiters, vehicles and signals experts flew from Singapore to

Dacca today to provide a bridgehead for the larger seaborne forces.

The 650 British soldiers with hundreds of tons of relief equipment and supplies and dozens of small boats sailed today for the Ganges Delta, where the 20ft tidal wave struck last Saturday. Last night the British Foreign Secretary (Sir Alec Douglas-Home) announced in Parliament that Britain would spend £500,000 to relieve distress in East Pakistan. Helicopter drops The British plan is to fly in a further two helicopters, four landrovers and 34 men tomorrow morning to complete the advance party. The four Sioux helicopters can be put together in 16 hours and will get international aid moving out of Dacca in drops to survivors facing death from famine,

exposure or epidemic on the devastated islands.

The British engineers, commandos and radio experts will arrive after four days at sea and move through the disaster area to repair communications and help shift the aid in dozens of small motorised assault landing craft and rubber dinghies.