Dhruvs perform daring missions in flood-hit areas

      The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, has once again become the saviour of several lives in the face of a natural calamity.

     Dhruvs, operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and ONGC, were instrumental in saving people from flood-affected areas in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

     In areas like Bhadrachallam, Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh and Nanded, Nagpur in Maharashtra, three Dhruv helicopters flew 60 hours in three days, distributing around 20 tons of food and water to people who were stranded.

Around 320 people were rescued from floodwaters. This included seven people who were winched from the top of a stranded bus in Mahekar, close to Bidar.

     In another case, 262 people were evacuated from two marooned villages close to Nagpur. The helicopters also did low hovering over flooded areas and rescued lying casualties and those who took shelter over treetops.

     On its part, the ONGC operated one Dhruv copter for rescue operations in its Surat Hazira plant, apart from dropping food and water packages in Surat and surrounding areas.

     The copters carried out the operations in extremely testing conditions. Low-cloud ceiling, poor visibility, strong winds and rain made the mission more challenging.

     Wg Cdr C.D. Upadhyay, Chief Test Pilot, HAL, said that the latest operations proved the capabilities of ALH to carry out its mission in adverse climatic conditions. “We are proud that our machines played a key role in saving so many lives. We once again salute the spirit of IAF and its boys,” Upadhyay said.

Rescue team uses Dhruv helicopter to winch a woman and her son from a flooded area in Andhra Pradesh.