'Siachen Pioneers' rescue 22 British, French trekkers stranded in Ladakh

Twenty-two British and French trekkers, stranded in high altitude Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir following heavy downpour, have been rescued by Indian Air Force personnel in the past two days.

"Braving adverse weather, IAF helicopters from Leh rescued 21 British Nationals and 1 French national on August 6 and 7 in a challenging casualty evacuation from high altitude in Ladakh," Defence spokesman at Army's Northern Command Col S D Goswami said on Saturday.

After five days of continuous downpour, all major rivers like Indus, Nubra, Shyok and their tributaries in Ladakh region were flowing above danger mark, he said.

Road and telephone communications were cut off. The Air Force Station in Leh received an SOS to rescue a group of British citizens who were stranded in the Markha Valley with some members suffering from asthma, he said.

'Siachen Pioneers', the premier IAF helicopter unit at Leh, was pressed into service, he added.

"Marginal weather and time of the day necessitated a search and rescue to be launched immediately. Two aircraft were launched, led by Commanding Officer Wing commander B S Sehrawat with Flight Lieutenant Cirag as formation leader, and Wing Commander KS Negi with Squadron Leader V Chauhan as his number two," he added.

The pilots located the trekkers close to Thinlespa village on the bank of the river, the trekkers had made a temporary 'SOS' sign near the rivulet, he said, adding this distress signal on ground was instrumental in correctly identifying the location.

"The formation carried out one more shuttles and successfully evacuated a total of 10 British nationals," he added.

On August 7, two sets of two Cheetah helicopters each, took off at sunrise, Col Goswami said adding that in a matter of a few hours the balance 11 Britishers were rescued.

Meanwhile, another request for evacuation of a French woman, who was badly injured, was received, he said. Even though she had severe spinal injury and broken ribs, she was evacuated to Leh airfield and promptly moved to the hospital, Col Goswami added.