India sends aid flights to quake-hit Myanmar

New Delhi, India
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Indian aid flights began landing in Myanmar on Saturday, New Delhi's foreign ministry said, a day after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage in its civil war-ravaged neighbor.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said a C-130 military transport plane had been dispatched carrying hygiene kits, blankets, food parcels, and other essentials.
"A search and rescue team and medical team are also accompanying this flight," he added. "We will continue to monitor the developments, and more aid will follow."

Jaishankar's ministry later shared photographs of the flight being unloaded after it landed in the commercial capital, Yangon.

Two more Indian Air Force aircraft were being sent on Saturday carrying "80 search and rescue specialists" and a canine squad alongside more relief material, ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said.

A further two aircraft carrying a field hospital and medical personnel took off from Agra military base on Saturday for Naypyidaw, an Indian army official said during the ministry's briefing.

Two Indian Navy ships carrying more relief assistance material and personnel had already set sail from Port Blair for Yangon, an Indian Navy official added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken with Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar to give his "deep condolences at the loss of lives" in the earthquake.
"As a close friend and neighbor, India stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar in this difficult hour," he wrote in a social media post.