The Indian Navy has pressed three ships—INS Kirch, INS Shardul and INS Jalashwa—for relief and rescue operations in Sri Lanka, where, following heavy rains, flooding and landslides have already claimed nearly a hundred lives.
The government of Sri Lanka sought Indian help on my 26, shortly after which INS Kirch, a corvette, which was on deployment was diverted to Colombo. The ship reached Colombo on May 27, with relief supplies, inflatable Gemini boats and diving teams, and a mobile medical team. The rescue specialists are already in the disaster prone zone, working in co-ordination with Sri Lankan authorities.
INS Shardul, an amphibious ship, sailed out from Kochi on May 27, loaded with relief materiel and more inflatable boats. It should reach Colombo port by Sunday afternoon. INS Jalashwa set sail from Visakhapatnam, with additional supplies and is expected to reach by Monday. INS Jalashwa is the largest of the three ships. It is a Landing Platform Dock that can carry large amount of relief material and is ideal to be deployed for disaster relief missions.
Prime minister Narendra Modi who has condoled the loss of lives, said that “India stands with her Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need''.
Earlier this week, Indian Navy had successfully rescued a Maldivian ship, MV Maria 3, which has been adrift in the high seas for five days after a propulsion failure, The ship had six sailors on board. The Indian Navy deployed its Dornier aircraft in the search and rescue operation and located the ship drifting 150 nautical miles south east of Male.
