As torrential rains and severe flooding isolated multiple communes across the northern province of Lang Son, the Ministry of National Defence ordered the Air Defence and Air Force Service (ADAFS) to launch emergency relief flights to the affected areas on October 8 morning.
The Mi-171 helicopter coded Sar-03 and Mi-17 coded 7844 under Regiment 916 of the ADAFS’s Division 371 departed Gia Lam Airport, carrying four tonnes of relief supplies, including water, instant noodle, field rations, and milk to Van Nham and Yen Binh communes.
Regiment 916, with considerable experience in rescue and relief operations for years, is preparing relief flights to other disaster-stricken localities.
On October 7 night, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, signed an urgent official dispatch on intensified efforts to prevent and respond to floods, flash floods, and landslides in the northern region. He ordered the Air Defence – Air Force Service and Corps 18 to review and arrange forces and equipment to carry out search and rescue work in as well as transport food to isolated areas
