Navy to send relief ship to Nagapattinam

The Indian Navy will send a ship carrying medical personnel and medicines to the Nagapattinam district, the worst-hit by the tsunami disaster, on Saturday.

Khanjar is sailing in the night for Nagapattinam carrying about 25 medical personnel and large quantity of medicines to set up medical camps.

Meanwhile, another ship, the SDB-57, has reached Napapattinam with rations, clothing and medicines, a defence release said in Chennai.

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The navy has also set up a mobile medical camp at Seepudupettai village near Porto Novo, it said.

The release said that INS Mithun from the local naval flotilla in Chennai was sent to the coastal area of Kalpakkam, about 75 km from Chennai, to render necessary help. The ship was later recalled as the authorities confirmed that the nuclear plant was safe.

Indian Navy has also sent additional diving reinforcements to the Chennai Port Trust from Visakhapatnam to clear the harbour of large anchors and cables that were torn apart from merchant ships when the waves struck. Diving operations were going on.

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Since Chennai is the staging post for 'Operation Madad' for relief in India, 'Operation Rainbow East' for relief in Sri Lanka and 'Operation Gambhir' for Indonesia, the naval base in the city has been humming with activity, coordinating relief operations.

As part of 'Operation Madad', naval planes airlifted large quantities of bread and biscuits to the tsunami-ravaged Andaman and Nicobar islands.

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 'Operation Rainbow East' saw the naval landing craft utility, LCU-33, reach Trincomalee carrying potable drinking water, fuel and portable gensets. The ship has reached the Island nation.

INS ships 'Sandhayak' and 'Sikanya' are returning from Trincomalee after distributing relief and medical supplies in Sri Lanka, it said.

Another Naval ship, INS Khukri, which is in Chennai now, is getting ready to leave with food and relief material for Banda Aceh in Indonesia, the release said.

INS Nirupak is already on its way to Indonesia, having converted itself into a hospital ship.

Other ships were already on their way or would be joining in shortly, the release added.