India sends mobile field hospital, over 70 medical personnel to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka

Colombo: India has sent a mobile field hospital and over 70 medical personnel to Sri Lanka as part of its continuing humanitarian assistance following the devastating floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, the Indian mission here said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.

As of Tuesday, 465 people have been killed, with 366 missing, in catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.

The Indian High Commission in a social media post said India has sent a "rapidly deployable field hospital" along with over 70 medical personnel to provide urgently required healthcare support in disaster-affected areas.

Citing a social media post by PRO Defence Jammu, it said an Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft airlifted the para field hospital, along with equipment and 73 medical personnel from Agra, and landed in Colombo on Tuesday evening to augment ongoing relief efforts.

IAF Mi-17 helicopters have also been operating continuously, airlifting more than eight tonnes of relief material and evacuating 65 survivors, including foreign nationals, critically ill patients and a pregnant woman.

Indian rescue teams are also conducting operations across multiple sites, the mission said.

In Badulla on Tuesday, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team recovered another body in an “exceptionally difficult” operation, with remains located beneath layers of compacted debris.

Search efforts at the site are continuing with “determination and compassion,” it said.

NDRF teams deployed in the Sedawatta and Nadeegama areas near Colombo have rescued more than 43 people so far, and continue to save those trapped in floodwaters ranging between 8 and 10 feet, the High Commission said in a social media post on Tuesday.

Under ‘Operation Sagar Bandhu’, Indian teams are prioritising the evacuation of the most vulnerable to ensure every life is brought to safety, it said.

India launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu' last month, a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.