Naxal attack: IAF deployed five rescue choppers

The IAF deployed five helicopters to evacuate casualties of the naxal attack on a Congress party function in Sukma district in Chhattisgarh and ferried 11 critically-injured persons to Raipur for treatment.

In a statement issued by its Central Command based here, the IAF said "it played a very proactive role in helping the state administration by carrying out casualty evacuation of the injured during the night."

The IAF had deployed three choppers in Jagdalpur and two in Raipur for the operations and received the first set of casualties by 1915 hours in the state capital.

"The other two helicopters were also used to ferry the casualties by night, they landed at Raipur past midnight with the third helicopter bringing Vidya Charan Shukla who sustained three bullet hits. IAF carried a total of 11 casualties and nine attendants," it said.

The IAF said its choppers operated night missions from the airbase in Jagdalpur where even carrying out day operations requires "high professionalism due to non availability of any facilities."

"The Task performed by IAF indicates high professional acumen and utmost dedication of its personnel in achieving any task vested upon it and it was continuing its flying efforts even today to ferry the injured and the dead," it said.

It also carried the Governor of Chhattisgarh Shekhar Dutt and state home minister along with other dignitaries to visit the injured at Jagdalpur hospital.