India on Sunday sent 31 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including replenishment stores for an Indian army field hospital unit deployed in Myanmar, to augment New Delhi’s efforts to provide succour to the quake-hit neighbouring country. The aid was sent in a C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft. It took off from the Hindon air force station in Ghaziabad early Sunday, a senior official said. “#OperationBrahma@IAF_MCC C> C-17 plane departs for Mandalay with 31 tons of humanitarian aid, including replenishment stores for the Indian army field hospital unit,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a social media post and also shared a few photos.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Myanmar last week, with the toll rising to over 3,000 even as rescuers continue to search through the rubble for signs of life. India mounted its relief mission named ‘Operation Brahma’ as a swift response to the devastation caused by the earthquake that hit Myanmar as well as Thailand on March 28. The field hospital, under ‘Operation Brahma’, continues its humanitarian mission in Myanmar as the local government and its agencies also soldiered on with their efforts in relief and rescue work. The hospital unit comprising 118 personnel was deployed in Myanmar using two C-17 heavy-lift aircraft of the IAF which had taken off from Agra on March 29. The field hospital has been set up by the Indian Army in Mandalay.

An Indian Navy spokesperson said that INS Gharial with 442 tonnes of relief material, including 405 tonnes of rice, arrived at Yangon early Saturday. The relief material was handed over by Indian ambassador Abhay Thakur to U Soe Thein, Chief Minister of Yangon Region, he said.

As the first responder in the Indian Ocean Region, large-scale mobilisation of over 512 tonnes of relief material by Indian Naval ships is a testament to the Navy’s “steadfast resolve to provide succour to those affected in Myanmar,” the spokesperson said.