New Delhi | India on Saturday sent a contingent of 80 NDRF rescuers and specialised search dogs to Sri Lanka for undertaking relief and rescue operations in the aftermath of unprecedented floods in the neighbouring country following Cyclone Ditwah, an official spokesperson said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have been divided into two teams. The teams, along with four rescue dogs, took off onboard an IL-76 IAF aircraft from the Hindon airbase near Delhi for Colombo around 4 am on Saturday, the spokesperson said.
He said the teams are carrying inflatable boats, hydraulic cutting and breaching tools, communication equipment, first-aid kits and other essential rescue stores to support search, rescue, and relief operations in cyclone-affected regions of Sri Lanka.
The deployment is part of Operation Sagar Bandhu launched by India to help its southern neighbour.
Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst disasters after Cyclone Ditwah caused floods and landslides that left a trail of destruction and damaged infrastructure.
The federal contingency force has also deployed 14 teams across vulnerable coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, including Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai and Mayiladuthurai, in the wake of the cyclone.
Additional teams have been earmarked for Puducherry while 10 teams are en route to Chennai from NDRF bases in Pune in Maharashtra and Vadodara in Gujarat, the spokesperson said.
