RAF delivers boats and generators to support Pakistan's flood response
The Royal Air Force has delivered a military aid package to Pakistan following recent floods in the country.
Eight general purpose boats with outboard engines and repair kits were delivered in September, along with 10 portable electricity generators supplied by the Ministry of Defence.
They were transported on an Atlas 400M aircraft, which flew from RAF Brize Norton to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan.
The aid was in response to a request from Pakistani authorities, and was provided in addition to the UK government's commitment to flood relief in the region.
James Heappey, Armed Forces Minister, said: "Thoughts remain with all those impacted by the flooding in Pakistan.
"Responding to humanitarian crises across the globe, helping our partners in their hour of need, is what our Armed Forces do best and I’m proud that we were able to respond to Pakistan's request for help rapidly with the assistance of the RAF."
Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority has said the floods, fuelled by unusually heavy monsoon rains, killed 1,695 people.
Some 33 million people were affected, more than two million homes damaged, and hundreds of thousands of people had been displaced and were now living in tents or other makeshift homes.
The United Nations warned earlier this month that roughly 5.7 million Pakistani flood survivors will face a serious food crisis in the next three months.
In Geneva, Julien Harneis, the UN resident coordinator in Pakistan, told reporters that more funds were needed to prevent a "second wave of destruction" from waterborne and other diseases in Pakistan.
He said the UN had issued an appeal for $160 million(£141m) in emergency funding at the end of August but, considering the scale of devastation, this was being increased to $816 million (£721m).
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