Gift of the Givers prepares rescue team as Nepal floods worsen

Gift of the Givers is preparing a search-and-rescue team for possible deployment to Nepal as the scale of devastating floods and landslides in the country becomes clearer.

Gift of the Givers head of search and rescue, Ahmed Bham, was included in a Nepalese government emergency meeting on Friday, attended by the country's Foreign Minister, Disaster Management officials and other government representatives.

According to Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman, Bham was thanked for the organisation's intervention during the Nepalese earthquake in April 2015 and for offering assistance so quickly following the latest disaster.

Officials also questioned Bham about the composition of the South African team, with particular interest in its K9 search-and-rescue capability.

"Given the level of interest in our team and the magnitude of the disaster, which is substantially greater than the figures being released, the Gift of the Givers team, inclusive of the SAPS dog handlers, are meeting at 10:30am today at our logistics facility in Johannesburg to start preparing the rescue equipment," Sooliman said.

He said a second search-and-recovery team had also been placed on standby.

While Nepalese authorities have indicated that they have sufficient medical capacity, Sooliman said Gift of the Givers was ready to deploy medical teams if required.

Nepalese Disaster Management officials have also indicated that should the government formally request international assistance, Gift of the Givers would be granted priority status.

"They will grant Gift of the Givers priority status, receive us, host us and blend our teams with theirs," Sooliman said.

Meanwhile, the organisation remains in contact with the families of six South Africans reported missing in the disaster zone.

The six are part of a group of seven South Africans who were in the affected area. Another South African, Sulosh Pillay, safely crossed into Tibet two days before the disaster.

Sooliman said Pillay and spiritual leader Mohanji, who are both known to the organisation, remained in contact with Gift of the Givers.

Prashant Pokhrel, a South African music teacher who has been living in Nepal for several years, has also offered to assist in locating the missing South Africans.

Pokhrel has circulated photographs of the missing people in local media and activated contacts in the disaster-hit region to assist with the search when conditions allow.

Gift of the Givers is monitoring developments and remains on standby for a possible international rescue operation.