In an daredevil evacuation effort, Indian Army ALH Dhruv evacuated two French trekkers along with eight Nepalese citizens from a remote place Machhakhola of Gorkha district today. While returning to Pokhara, the same helicopter came via Singla village to evacuate a 82 year old lady who was seriously ill.
Ingrid and Julien were trekking in central Nepal's tranquil Gorkha district when a 7.9-magnitude quake struck on 25 April. After getting information passed through local journalist, they were rescued after 17 days by Army Aviation Dhruv helicopter flown by Lt Col Kaushik and Maj Danesh. They have been safely brought to Pokhara today.
The ALH Dhruv helicopters have been drawn from Indian Army Aviation’s Squadrons. While, low clouds, poor visibility, strong winds and rainfall are posing a challenge to the operations, the pilots are finding penetrable patches in the weather to carry out their mission.