U.S. Marines and Nepalese soldiers unloading tarps for temporary shelter

Operation Sahayogi Haat (Nepali: "Helping Hands") was a US military relief operation delivering humanitarian assistance to victims of the April and May 2015 Nepal earthquakes, in which about 300 US military personnel deployed to Nepal.

Background

A May 21 statement from the U.S. Department of Defense says that their fast response relief efforts in Nepal likely reduced the scale of further disaster following the earthquakes.[1] As of May 22, "They have helped deliver more than 174,000 pounds of relief supplies, transported over 450 victims and carried out 52 casualty evacuations," according to the New Spotlight Nepal News Magazine.[2]

On May 12, a U.S. Marine Corps Bell UH-1Y "Venom" Huey, BuNo 168792, 'SE-08',[3] of Camp Pendleton-based HMLA-496 "Vengeance" was declared missing in the Charikot Region of the Himalaya Mountains while conducting humanitarian relief operations in the wake of the Magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the region earlier. The following is a statement from PACOM: "On May 12, at approximately 10 p.m. JST, a UH-1Y Huey with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469 in support of Joint Task Force 505 was declared missing while supporting Operation Sahayogi Haat." The Nepalese Army discovered the crash site on Friday, May 15th. All eight servicemembers aboard are deceased. The six U.S. Marines are: Capt Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, Capt Christopher L. Norgen, Sgt Ward M. Johnson IV, Sgt Eric M. Seaman, Cpl Sara A. Medina and LCpl Jacob A. Hug. The two Nepalese soilders are: Tapendra Rawal and Basanta Titara.[4][5][6]

Joint Task Force 505 deactivated after deployment to humanitarian Operation Sahayogi Haat on May 26, 2015.[7]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Sahayogi Haat.

References

  1. ^ Official says DoD likely lessened Nepal Quake’s effects
  2. ^ Dr. Bipin Adhikari. The Great Earthquake of 1934. NewSpotLight Nepal News Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 22, May 22, 2015. Accessed May 29, 2015.
  3. ^ http://www.helis.com/database/accidents/
  4. ^ http://news.usni.org/2015/05/12/marine-uh-1y-helicopter-missing-in-nepal
  5. ^ http://www.oafnation.com/news-1/2015/5/17/nepal-helo-crash-officials-identify-marines-and-soldiers-involved
  6. ^ U.S. Marines Faced Dangers in Nepal Before Deadly Crash archive
  7. ^ Nepal Earthquake Response Task Force Deactivates. Defense.gov, May 26, 2015. Accessed May 29, 2015.
2015 Nepal earthquakes
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