Myanmar quake: Army team inducted at Mandalay, recce on to set up field hospital

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese rescuers looks at a collapsed building before conducting a search and rescue operation in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, on March 30, 2025
| Photo Credit: AP

The first relief and rescue detachment of 10 personnel, who are part of the Indian Army’s 118-personnel field hospital team under “Operation Brahma”, landed at the Mandalay airport in Myanmar on Sunday (March 30, 2025) evening (local time). The personnel have commenced site-reconnaissance for establishing a hospital in the earthquake-devastated city, Army officials said.

Also on Sunday (March 30, 2025), two more Indian Navy ships departed for Yangon from the Andaman and Nicobar Command, in addition to the two ships dispatched from Visakhapatnam a day before.

“The first relief and rescue detachment of 10 personnel landed at Mandalay International Airport, Myanmar at 5.45 p.m. local time today. The team has commenced site-reconnaissance for establishing the field hospital and is currently undergoing orientation of the Area of Operations,” an Army official said. “The main body of the party, along with heavy load and equipment, is scheduled to arrive by road tomorrow morning.”

The Indian Army’s 60 Para Field Hospital unit landed at Nay Pyi Taw airport late on Saturday (March 29, 2025) on two Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft and Mandalay was identified as the primary Area of Operations. The first reconnaissance party, consisting of one officer and one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), reached Mandalay on Sunday morning, officials said.

Myanmar earthquake updates

Two Indian naval ships, Satpura and Savitri, sailed to Yangon on Saturday from Visakhapatnam while two more ships, Karmuk and LCU 52, departed from the Andaman and Nicobar Command on Sunday with relief material and to assist relief efforts, the the Navy said in a statement. “Approximately 52 tonnes of relief material have been embarked onboard these ships, including Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) pallets consisting of essential clothing, drinking water, food, medicines, and emergency stores,” it said.

Soon after the devastating earthquake stuck Myanmar and Thailand, India launched “Operation Brahma” to provide assistance to Myanmar, where the death toll continues to mount and relief and rescue efforts are critically needed. Shortly after the announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Senior General of Myanmar junta Aung Min Hlaing and assured “humanitarian assistance” to deal with the aftermath of Friday’s earthquake.

Within hours of the earthquake, an IAF C-130 aircraft was dispatched with relief material. “So far, 96.3 tonnes of critical supplies and 198 personnel from the Army Medical Corps and National Disaster Relief Force [NDRF] have been airlifted using three C-130Js and two C-17s,” the IAF said in a social media post.