Ladakh: Indian Army Aviation pilots evacuated a casualty from an altitude of around 18,600 feet near the Nun Kun mountain massif in Ladakh, carrying out the operation under strong winds and extremely challenging terrain conditions.
The Indian Army’s Fire and Fury Corps shared details of the evacuation in a post on X, stating that the casualty was located on a difficult slope where there was no proper space available for a conventional helicopter landing.
To facilitate the evacuation, the helicopter was lightened by removing non-essential equipment and carrying limited fuel. Despite the challenging conditions, the pilots carefully manoeuvred the aircraft onto the slope, with one skid touching the terrain, allowing the casualty to be evacuated.
The operation was undertaken during the last available landing window of the day, making the timing of the mission critical. The pilots had to negotiate strong winds, steep terrain and the extremely high altitude while carrying out the evacuation.
The Indian Army said the mission reflected the skill, courage and determination of its Aviation personnel in conducting casualty evacuation operations in difficult high-altitude areas.
The Nun Kun mountain massif is located in the Zanskar Range of the Himalayas in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
