A dull overcast day .. waiting for the 4 days to pass for me to go home. A call comes for a casualty evacuation. A foot patrol somewhere along the borders of china out for a 71 kms 11 day route meets with a mishap. 45 yr old guy falls down some 30 metres into a gorge. Communication by radio ..he is alive but unconcious..need to evacuate him fast..injuries something around the head and neck..and maybe a leg is broken. a look at the skies says...its a tough call..the chopper may not get to him. We launch..cant even see the north bank of the Brahmaputra...keep flying for 3 kms looking for an opening .. No joy.
Back to base.. the night creeps in ..the weather refuses to relent.. we plan to attempt again at 0530h ..take off..cross the brahmaputra....majestic in its full swollen self..flooding eveything in view. I sit with the Air Evac stuff and a camera in hand. Reach the himalayas..the valleys are white..majestic awe inspiring view .. but frustrating to the heart. Cant go in .. we come back. wait at a nearby base...take the weather every 15 mins .. keep talking to the unit whose casualty is waiting for the 'angels of mercy'. The guy opened his eyes in the morning ..our hopes rise up..the injuries are clearer..he has broken his mandible and a leg .. rest is unknown. The bombshell drops.. IV fluids with the nursing assistant are over. They cant get him down as they are on a hill tip with steep sides .. attempting a foot rescue is risking more lives of the patrol. the earliest another patrol can reach him is 3 days. No .. air evac is the only option. Keep him warm .. keep him warm I say.
The pilots huddle together around a map .. looking for alternate routes in through the mountains...more calls for weather .. every entry point is blocked with clouds. We wait.
Another call from the unit.. they tried to piggy back him ..the route is too treacherous .. failed. they wait for us ..we wait for the weather.
Couple of hours go by .. another attempt .. enter the valley mouth .. breathtaking raw peaks with impenetrable forests...pristine waterfalls that are unsullied by human presence... we keep going. 10 kms in .. we hit clouds.. try another valley .. the cloud cover is relentless. We turn back yet again .. this time to an airfield close by.
The wait again .. the weather every 15 mins .. sitting in the ATC tower eyes on the horizon .. looking for the peaks that lay veiled in clouds. the afternoon flows by .. and the cut off time for valley flying inches closer. We wait.
We see some distant mountains in haze .. is it worth another try ..?? We launch again. Enter the same valley...the effort of human endeavour visible along the stream that we follow .. houses at places that would put an eagle to shame. We keep going ..two choppers .. and hope .. the possibility of a life being saved. A lot of in only's keep cropping up. If only we had a helipad enroute .. could have stopped over for the night ..waited there for a window however small to get him out. ..we reach a little further.. but the mountain tops are in clouds....keep making forays side ways ...no opening. the cutoff time for valley flying comes and goes.. we turn back.
Four and half hours .. four attempts ...failed.
We are the only ones who can get him out .. a foot patrol is on its way...but how will they get him down!!
Tomorrow is another day. The weather forecast isnt good.
Money ..expertise..intent ...all wait genuflecting while the indian monsoon rages.
Conquer nature .. hah..!!!
......to be concluded.
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