Race against time! Indian Navy sends four more warships to Cyclone Ditwah-hit Sri Lanka

The operation was launched to provide urgent Search & Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) support to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka

The Navy has added INS Gharial, LCU 54, LCU 51 and LCU 57 ships to the mission.

INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri and INS Sukanya had earlier rendered relief assistance and heli-borne SAR support.

"The three LCUs (Landing Craft Utility) arrived at Colombo on the morning of 07 Dec 2025 and handed over critical relief material to the Sri Lankan authorities," the India Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

INS Gharial is scheduled to arrive at Trincomalee on December 8 to continue the humanitarian assistance mission.

"With a 1000 tons of supplies for providing succour, this deployment of ships underscores the strong people to people ties between India and Sri Lanka and Indian Navy's commitment to providing timely humanitarian assistance to our IOR neighbours," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the severe weather conditions that swept across Sri Lanka in recent days has risen to 627, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) tod Daily Mirror.

The rescue and search operation is still undergoing.

According to reports, 190 individuals remain missing.

Sri Lankan authorities have issued new landslide warnings in areas hammered by Cyclone Ditwah, one of the worst storms faced by the nation in recent times.