ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: The US relief flights resumed early Wednesday morning following two days of heavy rain and snow. Chinook helicopters from Qasim Airbase continued delivering humanitarian assistance to remote areas in northern Pakistan.

“Today marked our 100th day of operations. The moment the weather cleared our helicopters lifted off”, said Commander US Disaster Assistance Team in Pakistan Rear Admiral Michael LeFever.

He said the US had been using sling loads out of Muzaffarabad for the last few months and now for the first time the US helicopters were tasked with delivering sling loads out of Chattarplain. “This has extended our area of operation to the Allai valley while still providing supplies to Muzaffarabad”.

The United States is now bringing its sling load capability to the Allai valley. Under the directions of the Federal Relief Commission and in conjunction with relief patterns, these efforts will continue to ensure that enough supplies are available at key distribution centres throughout the winter.