An Indian Air Force plane carrying around 12 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits, and ready-to-eat food items, landed in Colombo on Saturday as part of 'Operation Sagar Bandhu'.
The C130 aircraft reached the Bandaranaike International Airport around 1.30 am and was received by the Indian High Commission officials and Sri Lanka Air Force officers.
“Operation Sagar Bandhu unfolds. Indian Air Force C-130 J plane carrying approx 12 tons of humanitarian aid, including tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits, and ready-to-eat food items, lands in Colombo," External Affairs Minister S. Jashankar wrote on X.
On Friday, India delivered urgent Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) supplies to Sri Lanka. The first tranche of relief materials was handed over after the consignments were transported by the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and frontline ship INS Udaigiri to the island nation.
Sri Lanka is grappling with one of its worst disasters as cyclonic storm Ditwah has wreaked havoc in the island country. Over 80 people were killed, and thousands were left homeless as torrential rainfall triggered extensive flooding and landslides in the central hill regions.
According to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), as many as 1,48,603 individuals from 44,192 families were suffering due to widespread flooding, while 5,024 families (approximately 14,000 people) had taken shelter in 195 emergency centres.
Reports said nearly 35 per cent of the areas in the island are without power since early Friday, affecting around 7 million customers of the state power entity Ceylon Electricity Board.