Operation Sagar Bandhu: IAF executes major rescue in Sri Lanka’s landslide-hit Kotmale, evacuates 45, including 12 Indians (Lead)
Colombo/New Delhi – Nov 30 (LatestNewsX) The Indian Air Force, working hand‑in‑hand with Sri Lankan officials, carried out large‑scale rescue and evacuation sorties in Kotmale, a region knocked off‑grid by landslides and road closures that followed Cyclone Ditwah.
During the day, IAF choppers lifted 45 people from the isolated area—including six patients with serious injuries and four babies—safely to Colombo. Among those air‑lifted were 12 Indians, a mixed group of foreign nationals, and several Sri Lankans.
To bolster on‑the‑ground relief, the IAF also ferried 57 Sri Lankan Army troops into Kotmale, where they helped with rescue and clearing work. More than 400 Indians were flown back to India by 8 p.m., and additional sorties remain planned.
Earlier, the IAF had described a “hybrid” rescue operation—Operation Sagar Bandhu—aimed at extracting stranded passengers from a restricted zone amid the worsening weather. A Garud commando was winched down to guide evacuees to a helipad in Kotmale, from where 24 people were airlifted to Colombo.
The IAF’s X post noted that three critical casualties were flown to Colombo for urgent medical care, while five Army teams (totaling 40 soldiers) who had departed from Diyathalawa Army Camp were also sent to support the relief effort.
In response, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reaffirmed the continuation of “Operation Sagar Bandhu.” The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka earlier announced that a family of four, trapped on a rooftop, had been rescued by a Chetak helicopter from INS Vikrant on 29 November 2025 and brought to safety under the same operation.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has stepped up its work in Sri Lanka. On X, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar posted photos of NDRF teams in action, underscoring their collaboration with local authorities under “Operation Sagar Bandhu.”
Cyclone Ditwah has brought relentless rainfall, flash floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, claiming 153 lives and leaving at least 191 others missing, according to the Daily Mirror citing the Disaster Management Centre. The police warn against accessing damaged roads, bridges, and other hazard zones, even as the Road Development Authority rushes repairs.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has set up a dedicated Disaster Management Coordination Centre and maintains a special hotline to aid those affected.
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