Indian assistance reaches earthquake-hit Venezuela under 'Operation Amistad'

NEW DELHI: Indian aid reached earthquake-hit Venezuela under 'Operation Amistad' on Sunday, with New Delhi deploying a field hospital, relief supplies, medicines and advanced medical equipment to support ongoing rescue and relief efforts."Indian assistance reaches Venezuela. Confident that the Field Hospital Unit, relief supplies, medicines & medical equipment, will bolster ongoing post-earthquake relief efforts in the country," external affairs minister S Jaishankar said in a post on X

The relief mission comes after a series of powerful earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, killing at least 920 people and causing widespread destruction in parts of Caracas and other affected regions.As part of the 'Operation Amistad', the Indian Air Force deployed two Boeing C-17 Globemaster aircraft on one of country's longest humanitarian airlift missions. The aircraft transported a fully operational Army field hospital unit, more than 35 tonnes of emergency relief supplies, essential medicines, advanced medical equipment and two BHISHM Cubes (Aarogya Maitri portable hospitals).The BHISHM Cube (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita & Maitri) is a portable hospital system designed for rapid deployment in disaster zones. Each unit is capable of treating up to 300 patients and includes trauma care, surgical and diagnostic facilities, portable oxygen generation systems and medical imaging equipment.