Trainee rescued from 16,500 feet in marathon Himalayan operation
The trainee, enrolled in a Basic Mountaineering Course, had suffered acute high-altitude sickness on 6 December, with oxygen saturation levels dangerously plummeting to 40-50 per cent.
The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) has successfully displayed a 7500-square-feet Indian national flag at the Mt Vinson base camp in the Antarctica.
According to the HMI, they managed to achieve the feat on 27 November as part of the expedition named “Mission Antarctica 2021”, which aimed at promoting patriotism through adventure among the youth and countrymen. “This makes us the first country to do so,” said HMI principal Gp Capt Jai Kishan, who added that the temperature was minus 25 degrees Celsius at the base camp.
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According to a press release issued by the HMI, the institute went on this expedition after the approval of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in August this year. The team of three persons was led by the HMI principal himself, with them undertaking various other missions over the Antarctica.
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The press release maintained that the team also climbed Mt Vinson and hoisted the Tricolour atop the highest peak of Antarctica on 30 November, with the team also being instrumental in rescuing two German climbers and getting them down to safety at the Vinson base camp.
“The team there also performed 125 sequences of Surya Namaskar and Vinyasa yoga flow at Mt Vinson Base Camp on 4 December and on the 6th they displayed the 7500 square ft National Flag at Union Glacier at Antartica,” said Gp Capt Kishan, adding that on 7 December they also undertook an MTB (cycle rally) there.
The press release further maintained that the team also went to Chile and on 12 December undertook skydiving over the Andes mountains from 13500 feet and displayed the 75th-year Logo Flag in the air. This was not the first occasion when such a giant Indian flag has been displayed by the Institute. Prior to this, a team of the HMI had displayed the same 7500 Sq feet Indian flag atop Mt Rhenock in Sikkim on 25 April 2021 and had set records in the Asian Book of Records and the Indian Book of Records.
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