MP: IAF C-17 ferries empty oxygen tanker from Indore to Guj

An Indian Air Force C-17 transport plane on Saturday carried an empty oxygen tanker from Indore in Madhya Pradesh to Jamnagar in neighboring Gujarat, an official said here.

Aryama Sanyal, director, Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport here, said an empty tanker of medical oxygen was sent from Indore to Jamnagar in Gujarat on board the C-17, among the largest military transport aircraft in the world.

A similar operation was carried out on Friday as well, she added.

Rohan Saxena, a district official responsible for the arrangements related to medical oxygen, said, ''Medical oxygen tankers usually take about 20 hours to reach Jamnagar from Indore by road, whereas it is reaching in an hour on board IAF planes, thereby, saving a lot of time.'' The tanker will return to Indore by road since the oxygen-filled container cannot be transported by IAF aircraft as the gas is considered flammable and may pose a threat.

The airlifting of empty tankers to oxygen filling sites using IAF planes was started after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan urged the Union government to help his state fight a surge in COVID-19 cases.