A plane carrying emergency supplies to help India battle surging coronavirus infections has left Dublin Airport.
The Ilyushin IL-76TD-90VD aircraft is carrying 700 oxygen concentrators, personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical essentials.
India is currently battling the world’s worst COVID-19 surge – with a death toll that has now passed 200,000.
In a tweet, Dublin Airport said it was “proud to help facilitate this humanitarian cargo service.”
The @volgadneprgroup Ilyushin IL-76TD-90VD departing this morning for @DelhiAirport with a cargo of vital oxygen, PPE & other medical supplies from the Irish state to India. We’re proud to help facilitate this humanitarian cargo service.🇮🇳 🇮🇪 #IndiaFightsBack #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/YmkURPTQMf
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) April 28, 2021
India has set global records for daily cases numbers every day this week; however, experts believe the figures for both infections and deaths have been severely under-reported.
Crematoriums have spilled over into car parks and families have been left to beg for oxygen cylinders, empty hospital beds, and medicine.
Gora Das from the Hope Foundation hospital in Calcutta told Newstalk there is a “massive queue of patients outside the hospital.”
“There are patients waiting outside hospitals in carparks in streets – all the beds are full,” he said. “There are people waiting outside.”
The aircraft left its stand moments earlier as it began its vital mission. 🇮🇪 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/pvcufY136N
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) April 28, 2021
Ireland is also due to send India an oxygen generator capable of producing up to 500 litres of oxygen per minute – enough to run a small hospital under normal circumstances.
