Cyclone Ditwah: Stranded Indians in Sri Lanka reach Thiruvananthapuram

Over 200 Indian nationals stranded in Sri Lanka due to Cyclone Ditwah were evacuated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and brought to Thiruvananthapuram airport on Sunday, a Defence spokesman said.

IAF aircraft operated from Colombo to Thiruvananthapuram reached here by 7.30 pm, according to the spokesperson,  Another 135 personnel are expected to land by 11 pm in C-130 J aircraft, a press release said.

According to the Defence spokesperson, IAF's IL-76 and C-130J heavy lift carriers, which were used to deliver rescue material and NDRF teams to the island nation, were used for the evacuation of stranded passengers.

IAF continues to extend critical Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) support to the people of Sri Lanka as part of Operation Sagar Bandhu, following the severe humanitarian impact caused by recent natural calamities in the region, the press release said.

Conducting multiple missions, IAF helicopters have airlifted a total of 57 Sri Lankan Army personnel from Diyathalawa Army Camp and Colombo to Kotmale.

Kotmale is the landslide-affected area in the central province of Sri Lanka, which is totally cut off by road.

A hybrid mission was undertaken by the IAF, wherein Garud Commandos were dropped near the stranded civilians and then guided to pre-identified landing sites, where they were picked up by the helicopter crew, the spokesperson said.

A total of 55 civilians, which included Indians, foreign nationals and Sri Lankan survivors, were successfully evacuated to Colombo. Operating round the clock, the two Indian helicopters have flown more than 12 sorties for the rescue operations till now, the press release added.