Intensifying its efforts for aiding relief and rescue work in earthquake-hit Myanmar under 'Operation Brahma', India on Saturday dispatched two naval ships to the neighbouring country while an 118-member army field hospital has been deployed to provide immediate medical assistance to the injured.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a briefing also said that two more Indian naval ships would follow under this humanitarian assistance operation, PTI reported.
The first ship carrying 10 tonnes of relief material left in the early hours, while the second one on Saturday afternoon, and they are expected to reach off Yangon on March 31, a senior officer of the Indian Navy said.
Jaiswal, in response to a query on the number of aircraft deployed under the operation, said, one aircraft left early morning with two more sorties after that, and two aircraft are part of the field hospital unit that is expected to leave from Agra later on Saturday, he said in the special briefing held in the evening.
India has also deployed an 80-member team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to support rescue operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military-led government in Myanmar, and said India stands in solidarity with the country in dealing with the devastation.
Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand were rocked by a high-intensity earthquake on Friday. The death toll from the powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar rose to 1,644, with over 3,400 people injured and many still missing, the country’s ruling junta said on Saturday, according to AFP.
Six deaths have also been confirmed in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, where an under-construction high-rise building collapsed, trapping dozens of workers. As many as 47 are still missing, reports claimed.
Rescuers in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and the epicentre of the earthquake, are conducting rescue operations at full scale. However, many quake-hit areas remain inaccessible due to damaged roads and bridges.
Aftershocks jolt Myanmar
There was no relief for the quake-hit country as it experienced another aftershock measuring 5.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale on Saturday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The seismic event was recorded around 2:50 pm near Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital, at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the USGS.
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