New Delhi sends aid to Myanmar after devastating earthquake

India has provided aid to Myanmar in the wake of a series of devastating earthquakes which struck the neighboring country on Friday.

As part of ‘Operation Brahma’, an Indian Air Force cargo plane carrying approximately 15 metric tons of relief supplies landed in Yangon amid calls to support the millions affected by the disaster, government officials said.

The series of earthquakes struck Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, leaving over 1,000 people dead and 1,600 injured, according to an AFP report, as well as causing widespread destruction and leaving many homeless amid the rubble of their collapsed buildings

Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswan said that their first tranche of 15 tons of relief material, including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, food packets, hygiene kits, generators, and essential medicines had landed in Yangon.

India quickly responded to the disaster, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing that his government is prepared to provide all necessary assistance. He took to social media, expressing his concern and offering prayers for the safety and well-being of those affected by the earthquakes.

Following the quake, Myanmar implemented a state of emergency in six severely affected regions. A major hospital in Naypyidaw reported hundreds of casualties; the entrance to its emergency department had collapsed, trapping a car underneath.

Prime Minister of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing cautioned on Friday that the number of casualties is expected to increase as the situation continues to unfold. “I would like to invite any country, any organization, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help,” he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw on the morning of March 29.

Several other countries have also offered to assist after a call for help from Myanmar’s authorities, including Russia, which has dispatched two aircraft from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, along with a group of 120 rescuers, canine units, anesthesiologists, and psychologists, as well as equipment. The flights took off from Zhukovsky Airport near Moscow on Friday night.

In Thailand’s capital Bangkok, which was hit by the quake, an emergency zone was established, resulting in the suspension of certain metro and light rail services. At least 6 died in Bangkok, according to media reports.