Helicopters rescue people stranded by floods on key India pilgrim route
Saurabh Sharma
, Reuters
Indian security personnel escort people deboarding a helicopter after they were evacuated during a rescue operation.
Photo:
AFP
Indian rescuers have used helicopters to pluck to safety people stranded by flood waters in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, two days after a sudden inundation and landslide killed four people, with more still missing.
With roads cleared as rain eased, rescue teams arrived in Dharali, where Tuesday's wall of water had submerged in sludge homes and cars in the village on the route to the Hindu pilgrim town of Gangotri.
Helicopters were carrying to safety those who had been stranded, the state's chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said in a post on X.
Dhami said the destruction was "massive" and that the number of missing persons was still being estimated.
"If the weather supports us then we will bring every single person by tomorrow," he told Reuters, referring to rescue efforts.
Authorities said about 400 people stuck in Gangotri were being rescued by air, with nine army personnel and seven civilians among the missing.
Relatives of missing people gathered at the helicopter base at Matli village, desperately searching for their loved ones.
Mandeep Panwar said he wanted to reach Dharali, where his brother ran a hotel and is among those missing since Tuesday.
"If you see the videos, ours was the first hotel to be hit by the deluge. I have not heard from my brother and he has been missing since," Panwar said.
Communication links with rescuers and residents remained disrupted, as mobile telephone and electricity towers swept away by the floods have yet to be replaced, officials said.
Earlier, army rescuers used their hands, as well as machinery, to shift boulders from roads turned into muddy, gushing rivers, visuals showed. More than 225 army personnel were drafted into the rescue, their Northern Command said on X.
"We saw Dharali falling before our eyes," said Anamika Mehra, a pilgrim headed for Gangotri when the flooding hit.
The hamlet of about 200 people in the state's Uttarkashi district stands more than 1150 metres above sea level on the climb to the temple town.
Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change.
-Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
Past the point of safe return, nowhere to go but Antarctica
Flight Lieutenant Ben Pickering (left) and Squadran Leader Adam Palmer (right) Photo: Davina Zimmer Just two hours into a dangerous rescue mission to Antarctica , the crew on board the Royal New Zealand Defence Force super hercules hit their first snag. They were told that Christchurch, the designated airport they would divert to if they had to turn around, was too risky for landing. Freezing fog had already ruled out Invercargill and Dunedin, and now Christchurch. Next on the list was Wellington. But Wellington's runway was closed for maintenance. Today The Detail hears how the sole job of one of the two co-pilots on board was to keep watch on the ever-changing, unpredictable weather and find a new destination for the emergency turnaround. The closed runway problem was sorted, but not before the mission leader got involved from Christchurch and phone calls were made. It was one of many risks that had to be weighed up against the purpose of the mission - saving a life. Defence got the call for help from the US National Science Foundation at McMurdo Station to pick up one person who needed urgent medical care, and two others who were also ill. Squadron leader Adam Palmer was in charge of the mission - his first time in the lead - and watched every moment on his laptop from Christchurch. He says that the dangers rescuers face could be "any number of things". The NZDF's C-130J-30 Super Hercules. Photo: Davina Zimmer "We talk about almost a perfect triangle. You need the aircraft to play the game, the weather in Antarctica to be good, the weather in New Zealand to be good, as well as the weather en route." But the greatest danger is that the rescue plane goes beyond the point of safe return and the weather turns bad. The crew took off from Christchurch knowing the weather was not looking good for landing at Phoenix Airfield at McMurdo Station. "Initially there were reports that there was going to be snow and big reductions in visibility," co-pilot flight lieutenant Ben Pickering says. The weather forecast kept changing on the flight down but in a positive way, he says, and the poor conditions initially predicted on the runway never eventuated. From their airbase at Whenuapai, Palmer and Pickering explain the preparations and planning that took place in the five days from the first call to the defence force for help, to take off from Christchurch. Even though a patient was seriously ill, Palmer says a number of things had to be put in place to minimise the risk, including creating a runway at McMurdo to make landing safe. "Because it is winter at the moment they haven't maintained the runway to the standard they normally would during the summer season," he says. A team from the US base had to clear excess snow, groom and compact the 10,000 foot runway. In its message of praise for the "heroic" mission, the US Embassy says it was a feat that took precision and extraordinary skill. In typical low-key fashion, Pickering describes the landing by captain Andrew Sledger as "good". Pickering says night vision goggles were used for much of the flight but the clarity of the airfield meant they could remove them for landing - but that in itself was a danger. "When you take the goggles off suddenly there is no terrain definition. So you get this effect called the black hole effect where if you can imagine the outline of a runway lit up and there's just absolutely nothing around it except for darkness, it just feels like you're floating in space and it can cause some optical illustions where you feel like you're low." Despite the safe landing, there were more risks to come, including "hot refuelling" the plane in minus 30 degrees Celsius while the patients were loaded on board. The US Embassy says the NZDF delivered on a mission that was "nothing short of heroic" and that tested "every ounce of skill and bravery". Palmer says it is the riskiest operation he has overseen but also "massively rewarding". "Having had the J (hercules) for 11 months to now go and do this is awesome for the team." Pickering says it is the toughest real-life mission of his career so far. "When you see the pictures of us landing - from the outside - onto the runway, it would be a pretty significant moment if you needed to leave Antarctica seeing a 730 land ready to pick you up. For me that was pretty cool." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes western Turkey, disaster authority says
Images published by DHA show a rescue operation and damage in the Balikesir province. Photo: AFP / DHA An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck western Turkey, the country's AFAD disaster management authority said, while local media said the quake was felt across multiple provinces. AFAD said the quake occurred at around 7:53pm on Sunday local time in the Balikesir province, near Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in any of the affected provinces. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X that emergency teams from AFAD had started inspections around Istanbul and the neighbouring provinces but that no negative reports had come through so far. AFAD said the quake struck at a depth of 11km while the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) registered the earthquake's magnitude at 6.19 and a depth of 10 km. More to come ... - Reuters
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
Helicopters rescue people stranded by floods on key India pilgrim route
By Saurabh Sharma , Reuters Indian security personnel escort people deboarding a helicopter after they were evacuated during a rescue operation. Photo: AFP Indian rescuers have used helicopters to pluck to safety people stranded by flood waters in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, two days after a sudden inundation and landslide killed four people, with more still missing. With roads cleared as rain eased, rescue teams arrived in Dharali, where Tuesday's wall of water had submerged in sludge homes and cars in the village on the route to the Hindu pilgrim town of Gangotri. Helicopters were carrying to safety those who had been stranded, the state's chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said in a post on X. Dhami said the destruction was "massive" and that the number of missing persons was still being estimated. "If the weather supports us then we will bring every single person by tomorrow," he told Reuters, referring to rescue efforts. Authorities said about 400 people stuck in Gangotri were being rescued by air, with nine army personnel and seven civilians among the missing. Relatives of missing people gathered at the helicopter base at Matli village, desperately searching for their loved ones. Mandeep Panwar said he wanted to reach Dharali, where his brother ran a hotel and is among those missing since Tuesday. "If you see the videos, ours was the first hotel to be hit by the deluge. I have not heard from my brother and he has been missing since," Panwar said. Communication links with rescuers and residents remained disrupted, as mobile telephone and electricity towers swept away by the floods have yet to be replaced, officials said. Earlier, army rescuers used their hands, as well as machinery, to shift boulders from roads turned into muddy, gushing rivers, visuals showed. More than 225 army personnel were drafted into the rescue, their Northern Command said on X. "We saw Dharali falling before our eyes," said Anamika Mehra, a pilgrim headed for Gangotri when the flooding hit. The hamlet of about 200 people in the state's Uttarkashi district stands more than 1150 metres above sea level on the climb to the temple town. Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change. -Reuters
