Operation Sagar Bandhu: India’s relentless relief and rescue efforts continue across Sri Lanka
Colombo, Dec 4 (IANS) India continues its unwavering humanitarian support to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, with intensive search, rescue, medical, and logistics operations underway across multiple affected regions in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, the Indian High Commission in Colombo stated on Thursday.
According to the Indian High Commission, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are supporting recovery efforts in the Gampaha region of the island nation, working on urgent drinking water requirements with well cleaning and water purification to help families regain access to safe water and restore normalcy.
Additionally, the NDRF teams continued high-risk recovery and life-saving operations in Sedawatta and Nadeegama on Tuesday, operating under risky water conditions.
They rescued 52 stranded people at this site. With water levels at 8–10 feet with strong currents, rescue teams continued operating in extremely hazardous conditions to evacuate the most vulnerable and ensure every life was brought to safety.
“In Passara, Badulla, NDRF team is working through dense, compacted debris in the flood-affected zones, and search and rescue efforts remain ongoing. Working in close coordination with the Sri Lankan armed forces, NDRF teams continue to rescue stranded civilians and provide urgent relief to affected communities,” the Indian High Commission stated.
As part of the ongoing relief mission in Sri Lanka, Indian Air Force aircraft IFC 1875 delivered 1.9 tonnes of supplies from Colombo and 2.7 tonnes from Badulla to Kotmale, while also airlifting critical patients to Colombo for urgent treatment. This was followed by IFC 1885, which transported another 2 tonnes of relief material from Katunayake to Kotmale.
Additional sorties are planned to ensure uninterrupted delivery of essential assistance, as coordinated by the Sri Lankan authorities. The helicopters also evacuated three critically ill persons to safe locations for urgent treatment.
Following requests from the Sri Lankan Government, India airlifted a movable modular Bailey Bridge system to Sri Lanka to restore urgent connectivity in disaster-hit areas.
“The massive structure was transported by a C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force and can be installed within a few hours to replace damaged bridges, significantly strengthening relief access and mobility for emergency services, in landslide and flood-hit areas. C-17 also brought in 500 water purification systems as requested by the Sri Lankan authorities,” the Indian High Commission mentioned.
It also included 22 personnel, including expert engineers for setting up the Bailey Bridge systems, as well as a medical team of doctors to assist in the field hospital, which had arrived from India earlier on Tuesday.
–IANS
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