Tougher than Everest rescues: Inside Nepal's biggest airlift
Helicopter pilots in Nepal conducted a massive rescue operation following severe flooding in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, airlifting over 4,000 people. Pilots described the mission as exceptionally dangerous due to unpredictable landing conditions, lack of air traffic control, and hazards posed by unauthorized drones.
Why it matters
The operation highlights the critical role of aviation in disaster response and the logistical challenges of managing uncontrolled airspace during humanitarian crises.
Trishuli Bazaar: With roads and bridges severed across Rasuwa and Nuwakot after the Aug 26 Bhote Koshi-Trishuli flood, helicopters became the main rescue lifeline, airlifting more than 4,000 people in hundreds of sorties through a narrow gorge in what officials described as possibly Nepal's biggest such operation.Pilots said the missions were tougher than Everest-season flying, with wrong coordinates, landing spots buried under mud, crowded skies, drones and false rescue alerts complicating operations.Talking to TOI at Maithili Barracks, where choppers were taking off and landing in Trishuli Bazaar, Captain Bimal Sharma of Simrik Air said Everest flights, despite the altitude, were more predictable. "Even during the climbing season on Everest, it's still busy, but there's a clear goal of where to go and what to do." Here, he said, coordinates often did not match and pilots sometimes reached places where the landing ground itself had vanished.
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