Indian Navy moves in and dispatches INS Shakti and Sahyadri off the Chennai coast to speed up rescue operations.
Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam has dispatched two of its ships to the Chennai coast to assist the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force and other agencies struggling to speed up rescue operations to save people stranded in their homes and apartments, as several colonies of the city were inundated for the last two days.
According to the Easter Naval Command Official, INS Airavat with a helicopter on board, along with medical teams, rescue boats have reached the Chennai coast. In addition to this, INS Sahyadri and INS Shakti have been pressed into service and they were expected to reach Chennai coast by Thursday evening and to take part in the rescue operations from Friday morning.
The ships with men and material like drinking water, milk, tents were sent and the Navay’s Adayar office in Chennai is coordinating the relief operations. The heartening news was that Air India’s Airbus could successfully landed during the trail at INS Rajali, and the airbase is normally used for fixed wing aircraft operations. The Navy is also using unmanned aircraft from INS Parundu at Ramnad and a helicopter is being used for reconnaissance, said a senior official from the Eastern Naval Command.
