Flood rescue helicopter crashes in India
An Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed north of Gaurikund, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, on 25 June, killing at least 20 people, including five crew members.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed north of Gaurikund, in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, on 25 June, killing at least 20 people, including five crew members. The helicopter had been assisting in rescue operations prompted by the recent devastating floods in the country, and was on the return leg of a mission in Kedarnath. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate the causes of the incident, but the IAF’s rescue efforts are set to continue.
According to reports, the IAF accident was the second such incident in a matter of days in the region. A private helicopter that had been carrying relief materials crashed on 21 June, also near Gaurikund, injuring the pilot.
Uttarakhand has been particularly hard-hit by flash flooding, with the IAF and Indian Army retrieving 500 people stranded around Gangotri, and all but 25 retrieved from Gagariya. Army troops have also established communications with over 1,000 other civilians stranded between Gauri Kund and Rambara, in the mountain folds of Jungle Chatti. Medical centres and relief staging areas have been set up at Gauri Kund to receive displaced and injured persons and provide food, water and medical supplies, and technical teams have been working round the clock to improve a helipad at Jungle Chatti and enable it to receive Dhruv helicopters, to bolster relief efforts. A further two helipads have also been constructed at Gauri Kund, and army personnel created a ‘heli bridge’ at Govind Ghat, in order to transport pilgrims across the river Alaknanda – the temporary crossing that had been erected had collapsed, so helicopters were used to shuttle civilians across the river.
Meanwhile, at Dharasu, C-130J Hercules planes have been used to provide much-needed fuel supplies, landing on improvised runways barely 1,300 m (4,265 ft) long in severe weather conditions. The extra fuel has allowed rescue personnel to up the pace of their operations, and the planes have also been used to take injured civilians back to Air Force Station Hindan, where an emergency medical centre has been set up. Further planes and Mi-26 helicopters have been transporting communication equipment, pumps, bridging and construction equipment and more fuel supplies. As a result, further traffic management personnel have had to be brought in, to deal with the increased air traffic. As of 22 June, 18,500 people have been rescued by Army personnel, with 10,000 soldiers being deployed, and 768 sorties flown by the IAF.