How IAF team evacuated 7 from Chandertal: One chopper wheel touching snow, other two in air

As per IAF, the priority was to evacuate seven persons, including two elderly and a girl who had taken ill after being stranded at Chandertal, located on Barashingri Glacier at an elevation of nearly 4,300 metres.

Chandertal is a much sought after tourist destination where visitors stay in camps. As per the state government, a total of 256 people were stranded there.

All 256 stranded tourists have been successfully rescued from Chandra Taal lake and have safely reached Losar. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the team led by Hon’ble Minister Jagat Negi and CPS @SanjayAwasthy for their exceptional efforts in orchestrating this challenging… https://t.co/Sx0hNSzmOq

— Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (@SukhuSukhvinder) July 13, 2023

The evacuation was carried out at 4:30pm. The pick up zone was in the glacier with no landing place and loose snow. Due to sloping terrain, and to ensure that the wheels of the helicopter don’t sink, the rescue was carried out with one wheel touching the snow and the other two in the air.

Due to treacherous terrain, no communication with ground, no wind indication and no place to land, the pick up zone was extremely challenging for any kind of landing or winching operations, an IAF official said.

Sharing a photo in its Twitter hand le, the AIF Media Co-ordination Centre said, “In a daring rescue operation, braving marginal weather and near white out conditions, an IAF helicopter rescued seven trekkers from near the Chandratal glacial lake”.

In a daring rescue operation, braving marginal weather and near white out conditions, an #IAF helicopter rescued seven trekkers from near the Chandratal glacial lake.#HarKaamDeshKeNaam pic.twitter.com/akvrHsXcTs

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 12, 2023

The rescued personnel were received by Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu at Bhuntar.

“Tremendous gratitude to our dedicated rescue teams! Today’s efforts at F3 (Chandertal) led to the successful evacuation of 165 individuals, including 7 airlifted and 73 accommodated at the camp…I would like to express my gratitude for the efforts of the @IAF_MCC. They demonstrated exceptional skill by rescuing seven individuals who were ill, from Chandertal Lake, despite the extreme and challenging conditions…Large-scale air evacuation was not possible due to slushy conditions and unavailability of helipad,” Sukhu said in a seried of tweets.

Rescue Update: Tremendous gratitude to our dedicated rescue teams! Today’s efforts at F3 (Chandertal) led to the successful evacuation of 165 individuals, including 07 airlifted and 73 accommodated at the camp. Notably, we have also rescued 10 shepherds, ensuring their safety.… pic.twitter.com/D9ieMt51Jx

— Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (@SukhuSukhvinder) July 13, 2023

Meanwhile, the evacuation of tourists from Sangla to Karcham is also underway. Sukhu said that since Sangla valley is inaccessible, a joint team of the Army and ITBP is being deployed via helicopter to support the administration and police in rescue and assistance operations.

“…the Indian Air Force has offered to deploy a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter to assist in the transportation of excavators and heavy machinery,” the CM said.

IAF has also deployed two Medium Lift Helicopters (MLH) for flood relief operations at Ambala. The helicopters have so far dropped around 2000 kg of relief material comprising of water bottles, ration and tarpaulin sheets in the villages of Niharsa and Allaudin Majra.