New Delhi, Sep 9: Indian Air Force has casevaced trekkers from the Kolahoi Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir, who were held in a crevasse.
Hazik Mushtaq Beigh and his friends who were on trek in the Kolahai Glacier, fell in a crevasse (a crack in the glacier), wherein two trekkers got fatally injured and could not survive.
Two Cheetah helicopters of the IAF Western Air Command were pushed in for their evacuation, IAF sources said.
Due to the inhospitable terrain and bad weather, two choppers were necessary for the operation.
Having picked up Hazik, who needed immediate medical attention, both choppers flew back to the base.
“The spot was such it did not offer any place to land, we had established that winching the casualty was out of question, hence only one option was left. I told my wingman to orbit overhead while I tried to land on a small flat land, said Wing Commander Vishal Mehta, the mission leader and captain of the lead aircraft, adding that the elevation of the place, which is 12000ft, made it more difficult for the the helicopter and he had to find small spot nearby to touch down.
Upon reaching the site, the mission leader realised that it was not possible to winch Hazik due to his serious injuries and thereby wasting no time the choppers flew back to Awantipor and removed the side doors according to the need of the hour and picked up a guide en route from Lidru and reached the spot back again for accomplishing the task.
