Kochi. 14 October 2019. At around 12:45 pm on 12 Oct 19, the Director Health, UTL Administration approached Naval Officer-In-Charge (Lakshadweep) at INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti to evacuate a lady police personnel, Rasiya Beeguma, 49 of Agatti who had suffered a stroke, to Kochi for further treatment.
Southern Naval Command launched a naval Dornier aircraft from Kochi airfield at 02:30 pm, for the evacuation of the patient at Agatti. The aircraft landed Agatti at 03:15 pm with medical team to embark the patient and landed at INS Garuda airfield, Kochi at about 04:30 pm. The patient has been shifted to General Hospital Ernakulam..
The Indian Navy had conducted similar evacuations earlier, once by a naval helicopter flown from Kochi to Kavaratti to evacuate a comatose female patient on 16 May 19 and, another time, by MV Triton Liberty, on lease to IN, from Kavaratti to Kochi to evacuate a pregnant female patient on 20 Jul 19.
