The Indian government is sending 200 tonnes of liquid oxygen to Bangladesh by train to help supplement the country’s reserves amid a spike in COVID cases and deaths.
The consignment, carried in 10 containers, was loaded onto an ‘Oxygen Express’ train to Benapole around 10 am on Saturday, according to a press release from the Indian government.
The ‘Oxygen Express’ is a special train service in India that delivers supplies of oxygen, as per a bdnews24.com report.
This trip to Bangladesh is the first time the trains have made a trip to a neighbouring country, the Indian government said.
Hospitals often have to give oxygen to patients with severe cases of COVID-19, who experience difficulty breathing normally.
“The consignment will be decanted in Bangladesh and supplied to hospitals in the country to support our partners in the fight against the current COVID wave,” the Indian government said.
“India is committed to further sharing medical supplies, in tandem with the improvement in its own pandemic situation, with its closest partners in the neighbourhood.”
Bangladesh is currently in a state of lockdown to curb the latest spike in coronavirus cases and deaths.
The caseload in Bangladesh has crossed 1.15 million, while the death toll from the disease has topped 19,000.
