Cyclone Ditwah impact: India sends mobile field hospital, over 70 medical personnel to Sri Lanka
India’s medical aid in the wake of the damage caused by cyclone Ditwah arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday (December 3, 2025), the Sri Lankan President’s office said in a statement.
The supplies included advanced medical equipment and field hospitals. “An Indian Air Force C-17A aircraft carrying urgent medical assistance arrived in Sri Lanka last evening (December 2, 2025). The consignment comprised critical medicine, advanced medical equipment and deployable field facilities to support the country’s ongoing rescue and relief operations,” the statement said.
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Santhosh Jha, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka handed over the relief materials to Major General Tiral de Silva of the Sri Lankan Army, the statement said.
“The cargo also includes two fully equipped field hospitals designed for rapid deployment in emergency zones. One of these units is scheduled to be established in Welimada to support ongoing humanitarian operations. In addition, India has dispatched 73 medical professionals, including doctors, physicians, anaesthesiologists and other specialised personnel, to provide on-ground medical support where most needed,” the statement added.
Deaths raises to 474
Meanwhile, the death toll continued to climb in Sri Lanka and reached 474 on Wednesday (December 3, 2025), according to the latest official figures from the Disaster Management Centre.
“An @IAF_MCC C-17 transport aircraft with a self-contained, modular field hospital, over 70 medical & support personnel, and vehicles, landed in Colombo,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in a post on X on Tuesday (December 2, 2025).
The Indian Mission in Colombo too, on Wednesday (December 3, 2025), said that India has sent a mobile field hospital and over 70 medical personnel to Sri Lanka as part of its continuing humanitarian assistance following the devastating floods and landslips triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
The Indian High Commission in a social media post said India has sent a “rapidly deployable field hospital” along with over 70 medical personnel to provide urgently required healthcare support in disaster-affected areas.
Citing a social media post by PRO Defence Jammu, it said an Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft airlifted the para field hospital, along with equipment and 73 medical personnel from Agra, and landed in Colombo on Tuesday (December 2, 2025) evening to augment ongoing relief efforts.
IAF Mi-17 helicopters have also been operating continuously, airlifting more than eight tonnes of relief material and evacuating 65 survivors, including foreign nationals, critically ill patients and a pregnant woman. Indian rescue teams are also conducting operations across multiple sites, the mission said.
In Badulla on Tuesday (December 3, 2025), a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team recovered another body in an “exceptionally difficult” operation, with remains located beneath layers of compacted debris. Search efforts at the site are continuing with “determination and compassion,” it said.
NDRF teams deployed in the Sedawatta and Nadeegama areas near Colombo have rescued more than 43 people so far, and continue to save those trapped in floodwaters ranging between 8 and 10 feet, the High Commission said in a social media post on Tuesday (December 2, 2025).
Under Operation Sagar Bandhu, Indian teams are prioritising the evacuation of the most vulnerable to ensure every life is brought to safety, it said.
India launched Operation Sagar Bandhu last month, a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Published – December 03, 2025 11:25 am IST
