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IAF planes on mammoth rescue mission

Last Updated 07 August 2010, 19:12 IST

After the IAF cleared six inches of mud slush from the runway, two IL-76 and four AN-32 aircraft with food, medicines, generators, tents, portable X-ray machines and emergency rescue kits landed at the Leh airport.

The tri-service disaster management group in the capital has earmarked a special service aircraft to carry 19 VSATs and other equipment of BSNL to Leh so that mobile and telecommunication connectivity could be restored at the earliest.

The disaster management group is monitoring the operations under the direct supervision of Defence Minister A K Antony.

Two satellite phones have been provided to the Leh administration by the Defence Ministry for meeting immediate communication requirements. Two teams from the Health and Family Welfare Ministry consisting of specialist doctors and surgeons from Delhi reached Leh along with Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his Cabinet colleagues Farooq Abdullah and Prithviraj Chavan.

From the Western Command at Chandigarh, 4,000 ready-to-eat packet meals have been sent to Leh for distribution. Thirty-three columns of Army personnel along with jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been deployed in the affected areas to carry out rescue operations.

More than 450 injured civilians and tourists are being treated at Military Hospital in Leh and nearly 100 people were discharged after treatment.

Villagers of Hanoyogma near Handen Brooke whose houses have been swept away were provided food and shelter by a nearby Army post. Nearly 400 critically injured people have already been evacuated to makeshift hospitals by the Army.

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(Published 07 August 2010, 08:37 IST)

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