Kodagu floods: Bangalore drone start-up helps locate stranded people

Kodagu, Aug 21: A Bengaluru-based drone start-up took part in the rescue operations in flood-hit Kodagu district. The drone start-up Sierra Aerospace, started by Aerospace Engineering graduates, deployed four quad-copters for locating stranded people at Madapura area of Kodagu district.

Mallikarjun, one of the founders of the start-up told OneIndia, "The weatherproof drone came in handy for navigation and locating people in inclement weather conditions. We used four quad-copters in required area and sent visuals to relief workers to rescue affected people."

"Ground workers did a commendable job during relief operations," said Mallikarjun.

"The stranded people were brought to a relief camp at a primary school," added Mallikarjun.

Mallikarjun, Vinayak and Sudeep Dev, graduates from Jain University, operated the drones for two days in the area. They trekked the hilly terrain and crossed flooded to reach their destination to carry out the navigation. Two local men, Deepak and Kushal from Kodagu, co-ordinated with Mallikarjun and Sudeep Dev.

Sierra Aerospace was started in January 2018.