Indian Army Creates Record: Repairs Helicopter At Crash Site In Siachen Glacier, Flies It Back To Base Camp

In an unprecedented feat, the Indian Army successfully repaired its advanced light helicopter Dhruv at its crash site in Siachen glacier and flew it back to the Siachen base camp, New Indian Express has reported.

As per the report, the helicopter belonging to the 203 Army Aviation Squadron had crashed at about 17,000 feet near the Khanda post in January and was initially left to its fate.

As per an ANI report, the helicopter was on an air maintenance sortie when it developed a snag and had to be landed into the snow. It subsequently fell sideways due to overnight snow.

In subsequent inspections by the army, officials felt that the chopper can be repaired and a plan was initiated after getting due approval from the General Officer Commanding of the 14 Corps and the Director-General of Army Aviation Corps.

Under this plan, a squadron was dispatched from Khanda on a 15-day journey to repair the helicopter. Under extreme climate ranging between 25 to 30 degree Celsius below zero, the team started working on the helicopter under various physical and technical difficulties.

On most days the window of opportunity to work on the helicopter was just 60 to 90 minutes but despite all odds, the team managed to affix new parts to make it operational.

This feat has been described as a world record of sorts and it is the first time the Indian Army has successfully retrieved a chopper which crashed in the Siachen region.