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4 oxygen tankers flown by IAF from Singapore leave Panagarh airbase
The Indian Air Force on Saturday boosted its efforts to transport medical oxygen as the country fights with a shortage of the gas, hospital beds and medicines due to raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The Union ministry of home affairs shared video of four oxygen tankers, which arrived from Singapore in a C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), moving out of the Panagarh airbase in West Bengal. The Indian Air Force on Saturday boosted its efforts to transport medical oxygen as the country fights with a shortage of the gas, hospital beds and medicines due to raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19). "Four O2 tankers moving out of Panagarh Air Force Base this evening. These high capacity tankers arrived from Singapore onboard an IAF C17 transport aircraft. This airlift was coordinated by MHA," the tweet read with the shot of the tankers leaving the airbase.
The C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft on Saturday flew to Singapore’s Changi International Airport from the Hindon airbase outside Delhi and returned to Panagarh in West Bengal with four cryogenic oxygen containers. The aircraft "with 4 cryogenic containers for storage of liquid O2 from Singapore landed at Panagarh air base" at 4.30pm, informed the home ministry in a tweet.
The IAF undertook similar sorties, including those with empty oxygen containers to various oxygen filling centres in the country, to speed up the distribution of the essential medical supply as states struggle with a shortage. "The Indian Air Force is taking sorties to reduce the transportation time of Oxygen and other critical supplies. One C-17 has reached Changi airport in Singapore today. These containers of cryogenic oxygen tanks will help boosting the oxygen supply in the country,” defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.
Also read: Maharashtra, Rajasthan and MP next in IAF’s plan of carrying oxygen
As per a defence ministry statement, the Indian Navy told the minister that its warships have been kept on standby for moving oxygen tankers.
The Union home minister on Friday said that it was in talks for the import of oxygen-carrying tankers from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates after home minister Amit Shah reviewed the coronavirus situation in the country.
