'Op Brahma': India deploys specialised HDRA team to earthquake-hit Myanmar

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As part of India's commitment to Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, a specialised rescue team from the 50 (I) Para Brigade was deployed to Myanmar under Operation Brahma on Saturday after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the country on Friday.

A 118-member team comprising medical and communication units air-landed at Naypyitaw International Airport in Myanmar on Saturday. The operation is being led by the Commander of the 50 (I) Para Brigade, according to the Indian Army. 

Upon arrival, the contingent was welcomed by the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, alongside the Defence Attache and Naval Attache of Myanmar.

Following the unloading of critical supplies and equipment, the team then relocated to a harbour area 45 minutes from the airport.

The expansion of the operation began on Sunday morning with the reconnaissance party, consisting of one officer and one Junior Commissioned Officer, inducted into Mandalay, 160 miles north of the current base.

Mandalay has been designated the primary operational hub, with the full team set to move there late in the morning. While aerial insertion remains the mainstay, road-based deployment is also under consideration to swiftly establish the Operation Theatre (OT) there.

Earlier, a C-130 aircraft landed in Naypyitaw with 38 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 10 tonnes of relief material under Operation Brahma.

The Indian Army stated that as part of the operation, it will establish a 60-bed Medical Treatment Centre to provide immediate care to those injured in the calamity.

It added that the facility will be capable of handling trauma cases, emergency surgeries, and essential medical services to support the local healthcare system, which has been severely strained by the disaster.

Earlier in the day, India dispatched the first tranche of urgent humanitarian aid for the people of Myanmar from the Hindon Air Force Station.

The death toll from the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar has jumped to more than 1600, and even more have been injured, the country's military junta said on Saturday, CNN reported.

The figures were only for the Mandalay region in the center of the country and near the epicentre of the earthquake. The death toll from the earthquake that struck central Myanmar could exceed 10,000, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated according to their early modelling on Friday.