"The Republic of Tajikistan has asked the international community for help after snow avalanches occurred in the east and north of the country. As a result of the natural disaster, the economy of the republic suffered significant damage, infrastructure has been destroyed, dozens of settlements are blocked and there are human casualties," a Russian Emergencies Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.
According to the spokesperson, Russia has sent out food, tents, blankets and a mobile electric station to Tajikistan.
"From the Ramenskoye Airport [Zhukovsky airfield] in the Moscow region, an Il-76 airlifter of the Russian Emergencies Ministry flew out to Dushanbe [Tajikistan’s capital], carrying about 40 tonnes [metric tons] of humanitarian aid," the spokesperson said.
Russia and Tajikistan are bound by a 1997 agreement on cooperation in the sphere of civil defense and prevention and elimination of emergency situations.
