Sri Lanka: ICRC carries on evacuation of sick and wounded by sea
[International Committee of the Red Cross]
A ferry flying the flag of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) left Putumattalan today for Trincomalee with over 400 passengers on board, including patients and accompanying family members. “The ICRC was able to take action because both parties granted safe passage to our ship and gave us their active support,” said Paul Castella, head of the ICRC delegation in Colombo. Civil and military authorities in Putumattalan, Trincomalee and Jaffna as well as local people were also instrumental in ensuring that the wounded and sick were brought to hospital rapidly. Sri Lanka Red Cross Society volunteers participated in the operation by helping to disembark and transfer the patients.