Russia’s emergencies ministry has sent 30 tonnes of bottled water to quake-hit Nepal, a ministry spokesman told TASS on Sunday.

The spokesman said an Ilyushin Il-96 plane had taken off from the Ramenskoye airfield outside Moscow on Sunday evening. It would deliver 30 tonnes of bottled water to Nepal, which is suffering from drinking water shortages after the recent devastating earthquake.

The plane will make a stopover in New Delhi.

A devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake, the strongest one in the past 80 years, rocked Nepal on Saturday, April 25. The epicentre was located 84 kilometres away from the capital city Kathmandu at the depth of 15 kilometres. The earthquake was followed by a series of about 90 aftershocks with a magnitude ranging from 3.2 to 6.9 points.

According to the latest reports, the earthquake has claimed more than 8,400 lives. More than 17,500 people were injured. According to Nepal’s defence ministry, the quake ruined 140,000 dwelling houses and damaged 140,000 more. The earthquake triggered snow slides at the world’s highest Mount Everest, burying about 80 climbers. Earth tremors were felt in the Indian capital New Delhi and in its eastern, northern and north-eastern states, where about 70 people were killed and more than 250 injured, in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.