Air Marshal B. Suresh’s primary concern as he air-dropped relief supplies over flood-hit Chenganoor on Sunday was to ensure that he did not accidentally injure citizens marooned on roofs.
The Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command, had made a mid-day sortie into the swamped locality on board an MI-17 B, medium-lift helicopter from the IAF’s station at Shangumugham here.
“People isolated by the floodwaters stood close to each other on roof-tops. My heart skipped when a packet dropped from the air just missed a senior citizen. We had reduced the weight of supply packets and wrapped them in flexible synthetic covers to cushion the landing,” he told The Hindu shortly after completing the two-hour mission.
The MI-17 B of the 109 Helicopter Unit, nicknamed “The Knights”, from Sulur on Tamil Nadu is one of the 24 IAF choppers involved in the massive air relief and rescue campaign code-named “Operation Karuna” that commenced on August 9.
The unit has flown over 288 missions till Sunday, making a difference between sustenance and starvation for thousands stranded by the floods.
The choppers also rescued 2,324 persons and delivered or air-dropped 380 tonnes of food, water, medicines and other aid supplies.
Difficult circumstances
The Air Marshal said his pilots had braved adverse weather and pushed the limits of their machines and themselves to carry out rescue and relief operations.
Describing the operations so far, Air Marshal Suresh said the machines had made risky and impromptu touchdowns on uncharted landing zones when bringing in marooned persons to safety. The pilots risked flying below the minimum operational altitude and without flight plans to hoist up people from densely packed urban localities. All through, ground crews worked non-stop to keep the choppers air-worthy.
The Air Marshal said with Kochi and Kozhikode airports hobbled by the floods, Thiruvananthapuram operated as a transit air base for the forward supply of men and material.
The IAF’s C-17 Globe Master flew 11 sorties, bringing in disaster teams and amphibious troops. The C-130s, AN-32s and IL-76s, the standard transport workhorses of the IAF, played a significant role in the operation, which has now shifted gear from rescue to relief.