France provides additional aid for Pakistan

France decided on Monday to send more humanitarian aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan, in response to an urgent call for help from both Pakistan and the United Nations.

"Given the exceptional gravity of the situation in Pakistan, Bernard Kouchner decided to send a plane carrying 60 tons of humanitarian aid in response to requests made by Pakistan and the United Nations," the ministry said in a statement.

The cargo includes 35 tonnes of emergency supplies -- tarpaulins, tanks, blankets, jerry cans, and kitchen sets, as well as water purification tablets, 200 shelters and anti-cholera medicines, according to the statement.

The aid plane is scheduled to fly to Pakistan on Wednesday.

France has already pledged 10.5 million euros (13.44 million U. S. dollars) in aid to Pakistan, where nearly 1,400 people have been killed, over 720,000 housed destroyed and more than 1.2 million people adversely affected in the worst floods in decades.

Source: Xinhua