Uttarakhand helicopter crash: all 20 on board killed, says Air Chief
The Air Chief is in the flood-ravaged state to boost the morale of his men engaged in their largest-ever rescue mission. He landed in Dehradun this morning and then reached Gauchar, the hub of relief and rescue operations. "Our rotors will not stop turning. We owe it to those who lost their lives in this rescue op," he said.
He also said, "The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and our men have done an outstanding job. I express condolence on behalf of the entire nation. This is a serious loss. But our operations are going to continue."
At Gauchar, the Indian Air Force's helicopters took off on their rescue sorties on schedule this morning.
The bodies of 12 people have been recovered so far from the crash site near Gaurikund. The five Air Force men on the chopper - Wing Commander Darryl Castelino, two Flight Lieutenants, a Junior Warrant Officer and a Sergeant - have all died, the IAF said. The other 15 people on board were paramilitary personnel from the NDRF and ITBP. No one survived the crash.
According to reports, the sturdy Russian-built MI-17 V5 chopper - 80 of which were inducted only last year into the IAF - was completely charred. The Mi-17 chopper was on its way back from Kedarnath, the epicentre of the devastation caused by torrential rains in the hilly state, to Gauchar when it crashed. It had reportedly already made two sorties in the day. The area around Kedarnath is tough, inaccessible terrain and evacuations on foot have been impossible.
The risk under which the Air Force is flying through the treacherous terrain, air-lifting pilgrims and air-dropping commandos and soldiers to temporary camps was on display all of Tuesday. Each time the rain let up, or the cloud cover improved, helicopters would head out.
