IAF Rescues Snow-bound Mountaineers from 14,000 ft

New Delhi, Nov 28 (UNI) Defenders of the Indian air space but 'Angels of Mercy' when called to provide succour, the Indian Air Force rose to the task earlier this week rescuing as many as nine mountaineers stranded in a snow-bound north-east Indian valley.

During the forenoon of Saturday last, the Eastern Air Command (EAC) Headquarters received an SOS from the Army requesting that a team of mountaineers stranded in the Yongyap La area on the Chinese border in Dibang Valley be located and evacuated.

The mountaineering team had encountered severe bad weather for five days and was stranded in a narrow valley with four to five feet of snow at an altitude of some 14,000 feet.

The IAF EAC positioned 2 Cheetahs and one Mi-17 helicopter -- laden with emergency food, clothing, fuel and communication sets -- at Mohanbari for launch by the same afternoon. But inclement weather prevented immediate commencement of rescue operations, said an official spokesperson here today.

It was on Monday only -- with weather showing some improvement -- that the intrepid helicopter pilots finally got airborne. Braving low clouds and poor visibility in the narrow treacherous valley, the pilots located the stranded mountaineers in a small clearing surrounded by tall trees and thick snow.

From low hover, the helicopters pulled in the casualties into the helicopter. Faced with chances of the weather clamping down soon and the emergency requirement to evacuate the sick, the Cheetah helicopters were flown in once again -- ignoring subzero wind blasts.

Maximizing the capability of the tiny helicopter -- which normally carries only three passengers, four casualties were brought back.

Finally, by evacuating a total of nine casualties who were in dire straits, the IAF choppers facilitated the move of the rest of the trekking team down the valley -- equipped now with relief material which had been dropped by the IAF's Angels of Mercy.

UNI DG YA HT2000