In Challenging Operation, IAF Evacuates Crashed Civilian Chopper in Kedarnath

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday evacuated a crashed chopper of from high altitude region of Kedarnath, taking it all the way to Sahastradhara near Dehradun.

#WATCH On 26 October, Mi 17 V5 helicopters of Indian Air Force evacuated a crashed aircraft of UT Air Pvt limited at 11500 feet at Kedarnath helipad. The helicopter was flown to Sahastradhara near Dehradun #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/fgoOxKIMSr— ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2019

In a statement, an IAF spokesperson said, “On October 26, 2019, helicopters of the IAF were given a very challenging task of evacuating a crashed helicopter of UTair Private Limited from a high altitude region of Kedarnath.”

According to reports, the helicopter crashed at an altitude of 11,500 feet at the Kedarnath helipad, just short of the Kedarnath shrine, a few days back. With transporting the wreckage to a lower region being next to impossible due to only foot track connectivity to Kedarnath, the company, through the state civil administration, requested the IAF to help it evacuate the crashed helicopter before the closure of the shrine at month-end.

Following this, on Saturday, two Mi 17 V5s of the IAF were pressed into action; while one provided the logistical support, the other evacuated the crashed helicopter. This was done by attaching the civilian chopper with the IAF helicopter with a hook.

The IAF helicopter than flew through narrow Kedarnath valley and took it all the way to Sahastradhara, near Dehradun.

“The whole operation is a testimony to the skill of our crew as well as our responsiveness when called in to help the civilian administration,” the statement added.

Source: India

Image Courtesy: BT