6 months ago
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India connected Monday (December 1, 2025) evacuated its past batch of stranded nationals from Sri Lanka, arsenic New Delhi intensified its assistance to Colombo's rescue operations for Cyclone Ditwah catastrophe victims, officials said.
Under Operation Sagar Bandhu, the past batch of 104 Indian passengers stranded astatine Bandaranaike International Airport successful Colombo reached Thiruvananthapuram, onboard an IAF aircraft, astatine astir 6.30 a.m., the Indian High Commission present said successful a societal media post.
In a property release, the ngo said India has intensified its assistance to Sri Lanka's rescue efforts and expanded operations crossed respective affected regions.
Chetak helicopters from INS Vikrant had airlifted respective radical to safer locations, portion IAF helicopters carried retired hunt operations successful Kotmale, a worst-hit cardinal elevation country with nary roadworthy entree owed to landslides and flooding, it said.
“National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, India's specialised Disaster Response Agency for Search and Rescue and HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) activities, who arrived yesterday successful Colombo, carried retired rescue operations successful Kochikade, moving intimately with Sri Lanka authorities," the merchandise said.
NDRF teams are present moving successful Puttalam and Badulla areas, which are severely impacted and chopped off, it said.
"NDRF assisted families affected by terrible flooding and helped guarantee their contiguous safety,” it said.
Death of chopper pilot
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Air Force confirmed the decease of a aviator aft a Bell 212 chopper crashed portion trying to present alleviation supplies successful Wennappuwa connected the north-western coast.
The incidental happened erstwhile the aviator was steering the chopper distant from crowds connected the crushed and attempting a h2o landing successful a bid to debar civilian casualties. Five different Air Force unit stay successful captious condition.
Separately, the Sri Lanka Navy said 5 sailors who went missing during rescue operations successful Chundikulam successful the bluish state were recovered dead.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with wide flooding, landslides and infrastructure illness triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, leaving respective districts isolated and severely straining the country’s disaster-response capacity.
As of Sunday, 334 radical person been killed, with 370 missing, successful catastrophic floods and landslides caused by utmost upwind conditions since November 16.
