Operation Dost: A medical team from the Indian Army returns from earthquake-stricken Turkey
A 99-member Army medical team that ran field hospitals in Iskenderun and Hatay successfully managed medical relief operations in earthquake-stricken Turkey before it arrived in India on Monday.
Arindam Bagchi, a representative for the ministry of external affairs, tweeted pictures of the crew arriving at Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad “The Army medical team that was sent to Turkey as part of Operation Dost lands in India. The self-contained 99-person team successfully established and managed a 30-bed field hospital in Iskenderun, Hatay, caring for approximately 4,000 patients.”
Lt Col Adarsh Sharma, second in command of the 60 Parachute Field Hospital, recounted the voyage and commended the government for acting quickly, as it was a time-sensitive situation.
#WATCH | I thank Govt for taking quick decision to send us for this disaster response. We were told to establish our field hospital & within a matter of hours we were functional & started receiving casualties: Lt Col Adarsh Sharma, Second in Command, 60 Parachute Field hospital pic.twitter.com/lLvawghHnk
— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2023
“I appreciate the government’s prompt decision to enlist our assistance in this crisis response. We were instructed to set up our field hospital, and within a few hours we were operational and accepting patients “He told the ANI news agency.
He said the team had earned the Turkish people’s hearts and minds “We saw about 3,600 patients in total during the course of the operation, which included both major and small surgery. The goal was to win over the public’s hearts and minds by giving them prompt medical attention. I believe we have succeeded in that.”
He continued, “The patients were extremely appreciative since their healthcare system wasn’t operating to its full potential, so they were kind of quite appreciative to the country and the team that we are there and providing the essential medical support.
After severe earthquakes that occurred on February 6 and have so far claimed more than 46,000 lives, India started Operation Dost to assist in search and rescue operations in Turkey and Syria.
