The Garud commandos and helicopter crews of the Indian Air Force (IAF) accomplished the delicate mission of rescuing all the stranded people on the Trikut Hills Ropeway Service in Jharkhand with great skill and under very difficult conditions that exposed them to tremendous risk.
The IAF’s Garud commandos accomplish the daring mission of descending onto the precariously suspended cable cars to strap each survivor to the belt for being winched up to the helicopters hovering overhead, according to a defence ministry statement.
Smaller children stranded in the cable cars on the ropeway were carried up to the helicopter by the Garuds themselves.
The helicopter crew was faced with their own challenges where they had to maintain a steady hover, with practically no visual reference, in conditions of strong winds in the hilly terrain. The crew went from one trolley to the next to carry out their task, which was as risky for the crew as it was for the survivors of the mishap, the defence ministry statement said.
The IAF, in close coordination with NDRF, local administration and Army, on Tuesday completed the rescue of 35 stranded persons from the Trikut Hills in Deoghar district of Jharkhand. IAF utilised two Mi-17V5, one Mi-17, one Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and one Cheetah to fly more than 26 hours towards this effort.
Having been inducted in the early hours on 11 April, IAF carried out an initial recce for preparations towards an operation which presented unique challenges.
The operation, spread over two days, also saw two unfortunate incidents wherein, despite best efforts, the survivors could not be rescued safely due to the inherently difficult nature of the rescue operation.
“The IAF deeply regrets the loss of lives of these two individuals and expresses its deepest condolences to their families. The IAF reaffirms its commitment to providing support, succour and relief to our citizens always and every time,” the defence ministry statement added.
