Narrow escape for 3 as AIIMS Rishikesh heli ambulance crash-lands in Kedarnath
Rudraprayag: Two doctors and a pilot on board narrowly escaped after their Sanjeevani heli ambulance, operated by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, made an emergency landing in Kedarnath on Saturday due to a technical snag, an official said.
Two doctors and a pilot on board the helicopter are safe, District Tourism Development Officer Rahul Chaubey said.
The Sanjeevani heli ambulance had gone to Kedarnath to rescue a pilgrim suffering from respiratory distress when it developed a technical snag in its tail rotor forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing, said Chaubey, who is also the nodal officer for the Heli Service, news agency PTI reported.
Also Read:Uttarakhand Avalanche: Survivors being treated at AIIMS Rishikesh, Army Hospital
The heli ambulance’s tail rotor broke when it was making an emergency landing on a flat surface close to the helipad, he said.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will conduct an investigation into the incident, Choubey said. The heli ambulance was coming to Kedarnath from AIIMS Rishikesh to rescue a patient, Shree Devi.
Before landing on the main helipad of Kedarnath, the helicopter developed some technical fault. Realizing it on time, the pilot thought it best to land on a flat surface just before the helipad. However, the helicopter’s tail rotor broke during landing, the official said, reports PTI.
Dr Madhur Uniyal, AIIMS, Rishikesh Heli Service Officer, says, "Today at 11:05 am, a helicopter of Sanjeevani Heli Services operated by service provider company Pinnacle Aviation took off from here for Kedarnath. A 53-year-old man had severe respiratory problems, our team went to pick him up. Apart from the pilot, the team had an emergency medical doctor and a trained nursing officer. The helicopter got slightly damaged at 11:50 am, just before landing in Kedarnath. The satisfying thing is that all three people sitting in it, the pilot, our emergency doctor and nursing officer are absolutely healthy. The patient has been evacuated by another helicopter", reports ANI.
