Port Blair, Jan 09: On 08 Jan 13 (Tuesday), aircrew of a Coast Guard Dornier spotted a damaged boat, South East of Tillanchang Island. Three crew members were seen waving red & white flags and attempting to build a fire to attract attention.
The Coast Guard Dornier transmitted the information to Air Force Station Carnicobar (3210 and 71 nm / 132 Km from Tillanchang) at 1345 hrs and HQ ANC tasked a Mi-8 Helicopter to be launched. Captained by the Flight Commander, Wing Commander Kundan Kumar the heptr took off at 1437 h equipped with medicines & food supplies.
Based on the coordinates passed on by the Coast Guard Dornier, the Mi-8 helicopter carried out a search and quickly identified the location. There were three survivors on the shore with their badly damaged boat close-by.
Tillanchang is heavily forested and the site was rocky with tall trees in the vicinity. This required dexterity in operations as the personnel were very close to the shore. Indications were given to the survivors by the aircrew to come into the water to facilitate winching. Winching was commenced immediately afterwards.
The Captain of the helicopter marshalled his resources well, notwithstanding the sea-spray caused during hover. The Mi-8 helicopter hovered steadily and the three survivors were winched up, one at a time. The helicopter returned to AF Station Carnicobar at 1612 hours.
After a brief medical examination, the survivors were handed over to local police. HQ ANC has once again risen to the occasion in reacting swiftly and launched its assets optimally to rescue stranded personnel.
