Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) has revealed that the number of Indian officials in the Maldives to help in operating the two India-gifted helicopters will never exceed 50.

At a press conference on Saturday, MNDF Coastguard Principle Director Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Saleem revealed that a maximum of 50 Indian officials are currently stationed in the Maldives to assist the authorities in operating the helicopters and that their stay is not permanent.

“We conduct surveillance of the movements made by the team. They rotate terms and will not be here permanently. They will come on the period allocated and leave when their term end and someone else takes their turn. As such their terms rotate” said Saleem.

Similarly, CG Commander Brigadier General Ali Zuhair stated that 90 percent of the operations conducted via helicopters is to transfer sickly patients from one location to the other.

Some of the Indian officials include technical operators as well, he added.

As such, at times, the officials from the company which built the helicopters also come to study the operations.

Zuhair further said that although the radar systems being stationed across the Maldives is being done with the help of Indian government, the Indian army has nothing to do with the procedure.

CG revealed that MNDF has thus far this year conducted about 40 operations via the helicopters. Most of the operations were to transfer sickly patients on emergency evacuations.