IAF airlifts 71 persons from flash flood-hit Leh

Leh, Aug.10 (ANI): As part of the ongoing rescue operations in flash flood ravaged Leh town of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Air Force airlifted 71 injured people on Tuesday to Udhampur base in the Jammu region.

The injured, including 24 civilians and 47 security personnel, were brought in an IL-76 aircraft and sent to different hospitals for specialised treatment in the district.

The Army, Air Force and paramilitary personnel have been carrying out rescue operations and providing relief to the people in Ladakh after the region was ravaged by a sudden cloudburst resulting in flash floods on Friday (August 6).

Group Capitan P. M. Vithalkar, Station Commander, Udhampur Air Base said: "The aircraft has arrived here from Leh and brought along with it a total of 71 people on board. This includes 24 casualties both lying as well as sitting, and Army casualties. The aircraft would be loaded with bridging equipments of approximately 22 tonnes."

According to officials, 47 security personnel were sent to Command Hospital at Udhampur, while 24 civilians were rushed to Government Medical Share College hospital in Jammu.

Over 6,000 soldiers are conducting rescue and relief work in the region.

Indian Air Force helicopters have airdropped and distributed food, drinking water, and other aid materials to remote villages that have been completely cut off from the rest of the state.

Residents have been facing hardship as many villages have been completely flattened by the turbulent rivers of mud.

Media reports say that around 147 people have been so far declared dead and nearly 500 people are still missing. (ANI)