This handout photo taken on May 3, 2015 and released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies shows search and rescue teams from Norway clearing debris through a main road to allow emergency aid access in the village of Chautara, in Sindupolchowk.PALANI MOHAN/AFP / Getty Images
Canadian military aircraft bound for Nepal had to briefly stop flying in to the earthquake-stricken country after Kathmandu closed its airport to heavy planes, out of fears that its runway was damaged by tremors.
Before the closure Sunday, two Canadian C-17 Globemasters had arrived in Nepal, delivering 85 members of the Disaster Assistance Response Team. But two subsequent flights were initially forced to hold in Delhi and Cologne, Germany, leaving people and goods waiting far from the disaster area. Flights were resumed early Monday, but only to aircraft that can prove to Nepal authorities they weigh less than 196 tonnes.
Under the new rules, a third Canadian Globemaster — the one that had been holding in Delhi — was able to land.
Questions over the ability to land Globemasters, which can carry 75 tonnes of troops and equipment, threatened to throw a major wrench into a relief mission already struggling to operate across massive distances. Using the Globemasters, Canada expected to need 48 hours to complete a single one-way flight from Canada to Kathmandu. The alternative was to fly C-130 Hercules that are smaller and slower with less cargo capacity.
The landing hiccup came as another example of the difficult situation on the ground in a country that has now counted more than 7,000 dead, amid destruction that has levelled countless homes.
Canadians on the ground have been moving toward Sindhupalchok, one of the most heavily-affected regions int he quake. "We're pushing an initial medical capability out there," said Lt.-Cmdr. Kelly Williamson, spokeswoman for the Nepal mission. Troops have worked alongside NGOs like the World Food Programme and Save The Children.
Canada has purchased five Globemasters since 2007, the most recent bought for $415-million, to bolster its strategic airlift capacity.
Meanwhile, Nepalese government officials have asked foreign countries to wrap up search and rescue operations now that there is no hope of finding people alive in the rubble.
"They can leave. If they are also specialists in clearing the rubble, they can stay," Rameshwor Dangal, an official at Nepal's home ministry, told Reuters on Monday.
Many countries have pledged money that will be necessary to rebuild homes, hospitals and historic buildings. Others such as neighbouring India have sent trucks to deliver aid and deployed helicopters to rescue thousands of people from remote towns and villages.
Files from Reuters were used in this report
Nathan VanderKlippe