New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out another daring and unplanned emergency operation on C-17 Globemaster aircraft at midnight on May 3 and 4 while rescuing Indian nationals from Sudan under Operation Kaveri. The crew encountered an emergency when a passenger became unconscious during the flight. However, the situation was immediately handled by the crew.
'Non-stop operation of 24 hours'
According to the official statement, the Indian Air Force carried out a non-stop operation of nearly 24 hours. In the midnight of May 3 and 4, the aircraft airborne from Hindan, flew through the night to land in the early morning hours at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“The aircraft refuelled at Jeddah to undertake a nonstop flight from Jeddah, via war-torn Sudan and back to India. The aircraft took excess fuel from Jeddah to avoid a situation of non-availability of fuel and refueling delays in Sudan,” it said.
‘Passengers were not permitted landing at Jeddah’
The IAF said that the mission was one of a kind, with the aircraft carrying 192 passengers, mostly ladies, children and elderly persons, who either were NRIs, foreign nationals or OCIs (Overseas Citizens of India). These people were not permitted a landing at Jeddah, and hence were required to be flown directly to India in a nonstop flight by the heavy jet.
At Sudan, the aircraft carried out an overhead steep tactical arrival followed by an assault approach to land the heavy jet. During the entire duration of the ground operations, the aircraft engines were kept running in readiness of a quick exit from the airfield, in case of such a need arose.
‘Situation was proficiently handled by crew’
“The crew encountered another unplanned emergency when one of the passengers became unconscious during the flight. This situation was immediately and proficiently handled by the crew who administered him 100 per cent Oxygen to stabalise him,” it said.
The aircraft landed at Ahmedabad late in the evening on 04 May 23 late in the evening and then at the home base of Hindan late in the night on the same day. The crew thus flew through extended duty periods of nearly 24 hrs to get some of the last stranded countrymen back to India.
About Operation Kaveri
Operation Kaveri was launched by India to bring back the stranded Indians from violence-hit Sudan. Sudan for the past few days is witnessing a fierce fight between the regular army and a paramilitary force. The fight is a result of a power struggle between the army and a paramilitary force.
As part of contingency plans to evacuate the Indian nationals, India has positioned two transport IAF aircraft in Jeddah and INS Sumedha at Port Sudan. The Indian Navy has stepped up the evacuation efforts, with a third warship INS Tarkash. INS Tarkash has evacuated 326 Indians from Port Sudan and is now enroute to Jeddah.
Notably, Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last 12 days that has reportedly left around 400 people dead.
Also Read: Operation Kaveri: Another batch of 231 Indian passengers evacuated from Sudan
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