The Indian Air Force flew three empty tankers to the UAE on Monday.
They will be refilled with 60 tonnes of liquid oxygen and shipped back to India for use in the country’s Covid-19 fight.
India’s Defence Ministry said transporting the empty containers on an Ilyushin IL-76 military plane reduced the time needed to deliver the tankers to the Emirates from Jamnagar, in Gujarat, western India.
They were delivered to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai.
Pavan Kapoor, India’s ambassador to the UAE, said the tankers would be refilled and shipped back on an Indian Navy vessel on Wednesday.
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Frontline doctors battling India’s soaring coronavirus cases fear they have not yet seen the worst of the current surge.
Medics painted a dire picture of packed wards with no oxygen, from which many patients are turned away.
Doctors who spoke to
The National said medical teams were at breaking point as they delivered news of a patient death to families every few hours.
On Saturday, India recorded the world’s biggest one-day jump in coronavirus infections for the third consecutive day, taking its three-day total to nearly a million.
We are expecting 10 times more cases soon. We cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s totally dark