BENGALURU: For Sanjay Teckchandani, a retired army aviation Lieutenant Colonel, the days between February 3 and 9, 2016, will remain etched in his memory forever. That was when his skills as a helicopter pilot were the most tested.

Teckchandani had to land a chopper in the avalanche-hit terrain of Siachen to fly a rescued soldier, miraculously found alive after being buried for five days under 40 feet of snow, to the base camp.  

The brave heart was Lance Naik Hanuma-nthappa Koppad, who hailed from Betadur at Kundagol taluk in Dharwad. 

Teckchandani (43), who is now settled in Bengaluru, recalled the moment: “Soon after Koppad was brought to my chopper, I gave him a thumbs-up sign to cheer him up, but to my surprise he only moved his eyeballs, blinking his eyes in a determined effort to fight death. I will never forget the way Koppad moved his eyes. Also, if it were not for him, I would probably never have attempted to fly in such extreme weather conditions.” 

The huge avalanche hit Sonam Post, at 19,600 ft altitude, on February 3, 2016. Most flights during the search and rescue operation were conducted by Teckchandani in continuous snowfall with almost zero visibility. 

Of the 11 jawans buried in the avalanche, the bodies of 10 were recovered during the operation. Koppad (32), from the 19th Madras Regiment, succumbed in hospital in New Delhi on February 11.

Of the 11 jawans buried in the avalanche, the bodies of 10 were recovered during the operation. Koppad (32), from the 19th Madras Regiment, succumbed in hospital in New Delhi on February 11. For his valiant efforts, in flying between Sonam Post and the Military Base Camp in Siachen, Teckchandani was awarded the Sena Medal on Independence Day, 2016.

The operations, launched after the post was buried under 40 feet of snow due to the avalanche, involved dropping and picking rescue teams in extreme weather conditions (lack of visibility in temperatures of -45 degrees Celsius).

“Soon after the orders for the operation were issued, we flew to Sonam Post (from the Siachen Base Camp) where the avalanche had taken place. But we could only land a rescue team on the post as there are no helipads there,” Teckchandani recalled.

“Soldiers in search and rescue could only guess the spot where the ill-fated post and the 11 jawans were buried by the avalanche, especially because the icy debris weighing thousands of tonnes was spread over 900 metres.

“Our attempts failed consecutively on February 3, 4, 5 and 6 due to extreme weather conditions. But on February 7, we were able to find three martyrs’ bodies buried under snow. On February 8, everyone was shocked to recover a fourth, and this soldier was alive despite being buried under 40 feet of snow, that too in -45 degrees Celsius weather. It was Lance Naik Koppad!,” Teckchandani said.

Koppad was extricated within a few hours on February 8, 2016. But it was not until early the next day that Teckchandani was able to land at the spot to fly Koppad to the base camp. From there, Koppad was flown by aircraft to New Delhi for treatment to help him recover.

“After finding Koppad, he was brought out on a stretcher. It took 18 minutes to reach the helicopter. Trust me, those 18 minutes felt like years,” Teckchandani, from the 203rd Army Aviation Squadron, recalled. Bodies of seven more jawans were found subsequently.

Teckchandani, however, remembers those days with sadness, because, despite the efforts and medical treatment made available to him, Koppad succumbed in a New Delhi hospital on February 11.

Teckchandani, who hails from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, started his service at Aviation Wing of Indian Army in 2000 and served in Bengaluru, Nashik, Congo, South Africa, Jhansi and Kashmir. He was posted in Bengaluru in September 2016 and retired on May 16, 2018.

This brave helicopter pilot, who took part in an almost impossible mission to save fellow-soldiers in Siachen, is now in search of a civil job.