Second Indian national dies after suffering severe injuries in US house fire
New York (PTI): A second Indian national has died after suffering severe injuries in a house fire in Albany, the US authorities and the Indian mission here have said.
Anvesh Sarapelli succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, a day after the death of Sahaja Reddy Udumala, who had also suffered severe burns in the same incident.
"We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Mr Anvesh Sarepalli, an Indian national, who lost his life in a house fire incident in Albany. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his family in this difficult time," the Consulate General of India in New York said in a social media post on Saturday.
The mission is in touch with his family and is providing all possible assistance, it added.
Umudala and Sarapelli were among four people found inside the home near Quail Street when police and firefighters responded to the fire on December 4.
The victims were treated at the scene by the Albany Fire Department and emergency medical personnel before being transported to Albany Medical Centre Hospital.
Umudala and Sarapelli were later transferred to the Westchester Medical Burn Centre for further treatment.
Albany Police said “tragically”, Umudala and Sarapelli both succumbed to their injuries they sustained in the fire.
The Albany Police Department had said in a statement that when they arrived at the scene, officers and firefighters found the residence fully engulfed in flames and learned that several individuals were still inside the home.
A ‘GoFundMe’ campaign has been launched by Udumala’s cousin, Rathna Gopu, to help meet funeral and memorial expenses, repatriation arrangements and other costs arising from the tragedy.
On the fundraising page, Gopu said the family had suffered an “unimaginable tragedy” with the loss of Udumala, a 24-year-old master’s student in Albany.
Udumala had sustained burns covering nearly 90 per cent of her body and “struggled immensely, fighting with all the strength she had,” Gopu wrote, adding that she died after suffering complete organ failure.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
