Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Public Health Ministry and the armed forces to prepare medical and disaster relief teams for dispatch to Nepal to provide humanitarian assistance as soon as possible, government deputy spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on Sunday.
Maj Gen Sansern said the Kathmandu airfield may be closed, so the Thai medical and disaster relief teams, when called in, will be flown to the nearest spot and transported into the disaster-hit areas.
"The prime minister said that in this type of situation, a friendly country should provide full assistance for people in need of help," the spokesman said.
Maj Gen Sansern said the government urged Thais to donate items important for survival that can be delivered to the suffering Nepalese.
The donations can be given at the Interior Ministry's Damrongtham Centre in every province throughout the country.
"The government will next week organise a charity event to mobilise donations from the Thai people to be sent to Nepal. The event will be televised live on army-run Channel 5," Maj Gen Sansern said.
Gen Prayut has also instructed the Thai Embassy in Nepal to look after any Thai citizens affected by the disaster.
The embassy can make arrangements to repatriate those who may want to return home as allowed by Foreign Ministry regulations, Maj Gen Sansern said.
