India launches Operation Brahma to aid quake-hit Myanmar

INDIA has swiftly responded to the devastating earthquake in Myanmar by launching Operation Brahma, sending emergency relief and rescue teams to the disaster-stricken nation.

A C-130J military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force landed in Yangon on Saturday (29), carrying 15 tonnes of relief supplies including hygiene kits, blankets and food parcels. The aid mission comes after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday (28), killing more than 1,000 people and injuring nearly 2,400 others.

Prime minister Narendra Modi spoke with Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing, expressing condolences and pledging India's support. "As a close friend and neighbour, India stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar in this difficult hour," Modi said on social media platform X.

In addition to the initial aid flight, India has decided to deploy 80 personnel from its National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) led by a Commandant-rank officer.

The NDRF team, equipped with specialist rescue gear, is expected to arrive by Saturday evening. This marks only the third time India has deployed the NDRF abroad, following similar missions during the 2015 Nepal earthquake and 2023 Türkiye quake.

The earthquake, described as the biggest to hit Myanmar in decades, caused widespread destruction across the country, with severe damage reported in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. The tremors were powerful enough to damage buildings in Bangkok, hundreds of kilometres away from the epicentre.

Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar indicated that more aid would follow as India continues to monitor developments in its neighbouring country, with which it shares a 1,643-kilometre border.

In Mandalay, journalists saw a centuries-old Buddhist pagoda that had been reduced to rubble by the quake.

"It started shaking, then it started getting serious," said a soldier at a checkpoint on the road outside the pagoda. "The monastery also collapsed. One monk died. Some people were injured, we pulled out some people and took them to the hospital."

The head of the main Buddha statue in the monastery fell off and was placed on the platform at its feet.

"Everyone at the monastery dares not sleep inside, as we heard there could be another earthquake. I have never felt anything like this in my life," said the soldier.

Guards at Mandalay Airport turned away journalists. "It has been closed since yesterday," said one. "The ceiling collapsed but no-one was hurt."

Damage to the airport would complicate relief efforts in a country whose rescue services and healthcare system have already been ravaged by four years of civil war sparked by a military coup in 2021.

(Agencies)