India needs medical oxygen and a lot of it right now. It doesn't matter if it
comes through the road, rail, air or water, as hospitals treating critical
COVID-19 patients are literally crying out for oxygen supplies.
As the crisis continues, the Indian Air Force has airlifted four cryogenic
tanks from Singapore, to be used for the transportation of oxygen.
A Home Ministry official said the four empty tanks are being brought to India
by a heavy lift transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
A C-17 aircraft of the IAF took off from the Hindon airbase in the outskirts
of Delhi for Singapore's Changi airport early on Saturday morning.
After loading the tanks, the aircraft is expected to land at Panagarh airbase
in West Bengal.
Talks With UAE And Singapore
On Friday, the Union Home Ministry said it was in talks for the import of
high-capacity oxygen-carrying tankers from Singapore and the UAE.
In addition to this, the Tata Group with German company Linde on Saturday
managed to secure 24 oxygen transport tanks and they will be airlifted to
India to increase oxygen transport capacity from production sites to Covid-19
hospitals.
German Embassy in India on a social media platform stated: "In this spirit,
the private German company Linde together with Tata have managed to secure 24
oxygen transport tanks that will be airlifted to India in order to increase
transport capacity from production sites to Covid-19 hotspots."