Air force turns guardian angel for 5-yr-old Jammu girl

For five-year-old Saira Bilal who sustained a critical head injury when her family was shifting from their flooded house to safety in Anantnag town of South Kashmir last week, an Indian Air Force chopper came as a "true saviour".

"It was a helicopter (of the IAF) that became a true saviour for the girl... Due to timely evacuation and dedicated care of the armed forces, her life was saved," Lt Col Maneesh Mehta said in Jammu.

Saira was among more than 2,37,000 persons who have been rescued so far by the armed forces and the National Disaster Response Force from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir after floods hit the state about two weeks ago.

On the morning of September 10, when Saira's family was moving to a safe shelter after their house was inundated, a tree branch fell on her injuring her critically.

Her family members managed to take her to MMABM Hospital at Anantnag, Lt Col Mehta said, adding the doctors diagnosed the case as "severe head injury" and referred her to Medical College at Srinagar. The family's hope to take her to the Srinagar hospital had a little chance as the flood situation was worsening and the roads were blocked.

At this hour, an IAF chopper came to her rescue. Saira, along with her grandmother Jehana Begam, was flown to Srinagar airport but the worsening flood situation made it impossible for Saira to be taken to any hospital in the summer capital.

The Indian Air Force took the initiative to send her to Jammu. An IAF aircraft then took Saira to Jammu. From the air force base in Jammu, an SOS message was passed to 166 Military Hospital to receive the patient.

The child was admitted to the Military Hospital, Jammu on the night of September 10 almost 12 hours after she sustained head injury, the officer said.

Saria, undergoing treatment at the army hospital, is recovering well and will be discharged soon. "The dedicated care of the armed forces has saved a tender life," Lt Col Mehta said.