On Monday 19 Aug at 0010hrs, IAF received information from District Commissioner, Karnal about 08 civilians stranded amidst Yamuna river approx 10 Km South West of Nakur with the water level rising and the threat of being washed away increasing with the passage of time.
As an immediate move, one Mi-17 Helicopter of the IAF was tasked to rescue the stranded civilians. Without wasting any time, the IAF sprang into action and the helicopter was prepared with NVG, considering prevailing weather and low light condition.
The aircraft reached the rescue site and a thorough recce was carried out before descending to pick up the survivors. The entire area was submerged in water and survivors were holding onto a broken kutcha hut.
A steady hover was established over the survivors. Despite the weather and low light conditions at night, the crew undertook the winching ops with utmost professionalism, bringing all the stranded people, mostly children, to safety. A total of 03 adults and 06 children were rescued during this HADR mission.
(The writer is a Delhi-based independent contributor to print and online publication)