Caracas, Jul 4: Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil visited the Indian field hospital in Caracas and thanked New Delhi for its earthquake relief work.
The field hospital, set up by the Indian Army at the International La Rinconada Racetrack, provides comprehensive care to those affected by the devastating earthquakes that took place in Venezuela last month, which killed more than 1,700 people.
“On behalf of the Bolivarian (Venezuelan) Government and the people of Venezuela, we express our most sincere gratitude to the Government and the people of India, especially to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for extending a helping hand to those who have suffered as a result of this calamity,” Gil said on Saturday in a post on X.
Indian Ambassador PK Ashok Babu accompanied the Foreign Minister during the visit.
“The Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, visited the field hospital and met with our doctors and the public. He expressed his gratitude to the Government of India for its relief efforts following the earthquakes that occurred in Venezuela,” the Indian Embassy in Caracas said on X.
Under the mission, referred to as “Operacion Amistad” in Spanish, two Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft transported 66 tonnes of aid, including the Indian Army field hospital, over 35 tonnes of relief supplies, medicines and medical equipment, and two BHISHM Cubes.
Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) cubes are mobile hospitals aimed at providing emergency medical care.
Working alongside Venezuelan authorities, Indian rescue and medical teams are providing emergency medical care and conducting search and rescue missions, the Indian embassy said earlier.
The 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and were felt throughout the region. (PTI)
