Tokyo, April 09: The Iranian Red Crescent Society has shipped a consignment of medicines to Japan which was struck by a strong earthquake and devastating tsunami on March 11.
The aid shipment which contains 50 thousand potassium iodide pills was sent from the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Japan,
The aid package has been provided through the offices of the Iranian embassy and Red Crescent centers in the UAE as well as Iran’s Consulate General in Mumbai, India.
The Potassium iodide pills were sent to the victims of quake and tsunami in Japan in order to help prevent thyroid disorders in children exposed to radioactive leak from damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant northeast of Tokyo.
A devastating earthquake and tsunami which rocked Japan’s northern coast on March 11 set off nuclear problems by knocking out power to cooling systems of reactors at the Fukushima facility, causing radiation leaks.
The government ordered the evacuation of about 200,000 people living within a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) radius of the plant and told people residing with 20 to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) of the plant to remain indoors.
Meantime, workers at the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant were evacuated following another 7.4-magnitude earthquake which hit Japan’s northeastern coasts last Thursday.
The temblor hit 25 miles (40 kilometers) under the water and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture which has already been ravaged by a the March 11 quake and tsunami.
—-Agencies