Vital supplies headed to Ukrainian refugees in Poland

Approximately 50 bags containing vital supplies for the Ukrainian refugees were flown out of the Aurora Municipal Airport in a twin-prop plane on Tuesday morning.

Volunteers, including Aurora Deputy Mayor Guillermo Trujillo, gathered at the airport in Sugar Grove to load the heavy black canvas bags into the plane's fuselage as Rene Koehler Berger with Crisis Response International of Blue Ridge, Virginia, described the contents.

"The majority is mostly medical, including combat gear, solar mylar blankets, medical boots, tourniquets, lanterns with chargers and crutches," Koehler Berger said.

She said the supplies are heading to a shelter house south of Krakow, Poland.

"It's a safe, warm place, which is super important, located near medical tents right on the border," Koehler Berger said. So when refugees cross over from Ukraine into Poland, they can get assistance, she added.

Aurora Airport tenant Revv Aviation, formerly known as Carver Aero, donated the use of one of its King Air 350 airplanes. The plane was retrofitted to accommodate the numerous canvas bags for the humanitarian mission. The supplies were flown to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, then transferred to an international flight to Poland.

The supplies were collected, in part, by members of the Aurora Sunrise Rotary Club.