MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia sent another plane to Pakistan Thursday morning with humanitarian aid for the victims of a massive earthquake that hit the country on October 8, an Emergency Situation Ministry official said.
An Il-76 transport plane took off at 10.28 a.m. local time (7.28 GMT) to deliver 34 tons of cargo, including large tents, folding beds and mattresses, to the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad.
A Russian Mi-26T heavy helicopter is already operating in Pakistan as part of a UN air group. "The helicopter is delivering humanitarian cargo to victims of the earthquake...in the Muzaffarabad area," the official said.
The earthquake, which had a 7.6 magnitude on the Richter scale, has officially claimed 73,000 lives, though the figure may yet rise. The epicenter was 90 kilometers (56 miles) to the northeast of Islamabad and was felt in major cities in both Pakistan and India.
Russia has previously sent teams of rescue workers, several planeloads of humanitarian aid to Pakistan, and temporarily set up a mobile hospital near Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir region.
The situation in the region devastated by the quake remains difficult. International aid agencies recently appealed to the world for additional help ahead of the coming winter.
