After severe floods, landslides and devastation in Sri Lanka due to Cyclone ‘Ditvaha’, relief and rescue operations continued with the help of India on Sunday. So far 212 people have died in this horrific disaster, while 218 people are still missing.
According to the latest data released by Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre, about 10 lakh people from 2,73,606 families have been affected due to the bad weather.
India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy
India has provided humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to Sri Lanka on war footing under ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that about 80 NDRF personnel are carrying out relief operations in collaboration with Sri Lankan officials.
Two transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, C-130J and IL-76, airlifted about 21 tonnes of essential relief material to Colombo on Saturday. Indian Naval ship INS Sukanya has also left Visakhapatnam with humanitarian aid and is expected to reach Sri Lanka soon.
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24 passengers including stranded Indians rescued
The Indian Air Force carried out several daring operations to rescue the stranded passengers. IAF helicopters carried out a hybrid rescue mission in which 24 passengers (including Indian and foreign nationals) were safely airlifted to Colombo from the restricted area of Kotmale with the help of Garuda commandos. In a similar effort, three seriously injured people were also immediately evacuated to Colombo for medical assistance.
Two Chetak helicopters aboard the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant also took part in the rescue operations. On Saturday, a Chetak team successfully rescued a family of four trapped on the terrace. The IAF also airlifted 40 Sri Lankan Army personnel from Diyathalawa Army Camp to landslide-hit Kotmale area to help in relief operations.