IAF sends Mi-17 to Kedarnath; drops funeral items

Landing its first big helicopter in the difficult Kedarnath area, the Indian Air Force on Tuesday not only dropped items needed for the funeral of the victims in the area but also picked up a few survivors.

The aviators have also developed a roller-skates pulley mechanism to drop the heavy load of firewood and other material from a height of 15-20 metres while keeping the Mi-17 helicopter air borne.

"We have dropped the material from the first sortie we undertook today morning to Kedarnath.On way back we evacuated a few people," Wing Commander Felix Pinto said at the helipad in Gauchar.

The IAF plans to send 2-3 more sorties with a payload of nearly tonnes of funeral material to Kedarnath so that state government authorities can begin the last rites of the dead.

The IAF has overnight fabricated a skate board system wherein wooden plyboards are tied to the metal wheels on the floor of the chopper, then the load is tied upon them and at the designated place of drop, the strings are pulled to release the material.

Flight Lieutenant D S Rathore said the weather in Kedarnath is not very good but  the IAF is trying its best to operate in the area.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters