Analiza Pathak
Born in Guwahati, raised in Mussoorie and Delhi, She grew up reading magazines more than textbooks. She is an experienced writer/editor and has shifted focus to various aspects of communication. Her a ... Read More
New Delhi: In a daring operation, an Indian Air Force’s C-130J heavy-lift aircraft rescued 121 people from a small airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna which is about 40 km north of the violence-hit Sudan capital of Khartoum on the intervening night of April 27 and 28. Those rescued included medical cases, a pregnant lady and people who had no means to reach Port Sudan.
The Indian Air Force landed its C-130J Hercules transport aircraft on an airstrip, which was in a degraded condition with no navigational approach aids, fuel and most critically no landing lights which are required to guide an aircraft landing at night.
The pilots of the aircraft carried out the landing using Night Vision Goggles (NVG). The aircrew used their Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure there is no obstruction on the small runway, which is about 40 Km north of Khartoum, the said epicenter of violence in Sudan.
#SudanConflict | In a daring operation carried out on the night of 27/28 Apr 2023, a C-130J aircraft of the IAF rescued 121 personnel from a small airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna, which is about 40 km North of Khartoum. The passengers included medical cases, including a pregnant lady;… pic.twitter.com/gTQv0w8Pul
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2023
“Approaching the airstrip, the aircrew used their Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure that the runway was free from any obstructions and no inimical forces were in the vicinity. Having made sure of the same, the aircrew carried out a tactical approach on Night Vision Goggles, on a practically dark night,” the IAF said.
Buoyed by the success and complexity of the operation, Air Force said this will go down in the annals of IAF history for its “sheer audacity and flawless execution” – akin to that carried out in Kabul after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
“Upon landing, the aircraft engines were kept running while eight IAF Garud Commandos secured the passengers and their luggage into the aircraft. As with the landing, the take-off from the unlit runway was also carried out using NVGs. This approximately two-and-a-half-hour operation between Wadi Sayyidna and Jeddah will go down in the annals of IAF history for its sheer audacity and flawless execution – akin to that carried out in Kabul,” Indian Air Force said.
India brought 754 home under ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacute stranded Indians in Sudan. While 392 people were flown to Delhi in the C-17 transport aircraft by the air force, the remaining 362 Indians were brought to Bengaluru.
A total of 1,360 Indian have been brought back to India since the rescue operation began.
The fighting in Sudan is part of the ongoing clashes between the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
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