Bangladesh is preparing to send emergency assistance and a rescue team to Sri Lanka on 3 December, depending on favourable weather, after Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus instructed authorities to support the country as it battles the devastation left by Cyclone Ditwa.
Two specially arranged Bangladesh Air Force flights will transport relief goods along with a trained rescue team as part of the humanitarian deployment, according to a foreign ministry’s press release.
The operation is being jointly organised by The Chief Adviser’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Ministry of Health, Armed Forces Division, BGMEA and Essential Drugs Company Ltd. ensuring coordinated support.
Cyclone Ditwa has unleashed widespread destruction across Sri Lanka, triggering landslides and sudden floods that have taken 355 lives so far, with 366 individuals still unaccounted for.
Nearly 210,000 residents have been moved to emergency shelters, and over 20,000 houses have sustained damage.
The Sri Lankan government has declared a state of emergency and appealed internationally for urgent assistance.
The release said, Bangladesh has a consistent record of extending rapid humanitarian aid within the region whenever neighbouring nations face natural calamities or emergency situations.
