Nepal floods: First woman helicopter captain Priya Adhikari flies around 100 rescue missions in less than a week

New Delhi: Priya Adhikari, Nepal’s first woman helicopter captain, flew around 100 rescue missions in less than a week as helicopters worked to evacuate people from some of the hardest to reach areas devastated by the August 26 floods. The experienced high altitude pilot has been operating around Timure in Rasuwa district, where floodwaters and debris destroyed roads, settlements and hydropower infrastructure near the Nepal-China border.

Speaking to CNN’s Anderson Cooper during the rescue operation, Adhikari described pilots making repeated flights into the narrow valley while coordinating with as many as 20 helicopters operating in the same area. At times, five or six aircraft were approaching or landing at the same location, requiring constant radio coordination between crews.

“Most of us are already exhausted,” Adhikari said, referring to the pace of operations. She added that rescue pilots were trained for such missions, but the concentration of destruction and missing people in the valley had made the operation particularly demanding.

Who is Priya Adhikari?

Adhikari had become Nepal’s first woman helicopter captain by 2017 and had already built experience flying in difficult Himalayan conditions. ABC reported that her interest in helicopter flying developed after she worked as cabin crew and later travelled to the Philippines for flight training.

AFAR subsequently reported Adhikari worked to accumulate the flying hours required to become a captain and, after joining Shree Airlines as a helicopter pilot in 2018, had performed more than 1,000 rescue missions in the Himalayas. The profile also described her operating an H125 helicopter.

Adhikari’s earlier rescue work includes missions following Nepal’s 2015 earthquake. ABC reported that some of her most memorable operations came in the days after that disaster, when helicopters were used to reach areas cut off by damaged roads and mountainous terrain.

Flying into Nepal’s flood disaster

Adhikari’s latest missions have centred heavily on Timure, one of the settlements worst affected by the floods. In her CNN interview, she said more than 200 people had been evacuated from the area during the initial rescue effort, with private operators working alongside Nepali Army helicopters.

Landing has been complicated by deep mud and debris left by the flood. Adhikari said ground that appeared stable from the air could be soft enough for a helicopter to sink, forcing pilots to assess landing zones carefully while several aircraft operated inside the same confined valley.

The wider destruction has made helicopter access particularly important in areas where roads and bridges were washed away and  blocked. As RNA Media reported earlier, the August 26 disaster followed a glacial collapse near Nepal’s border with China, sending water, ice, rock and mud through the Rasuwa region and destroying homes, roads and bridges.

Helicopter crews have been evacuating survivors and supporting wider search operations while ground teams continue working through debris and hydropower sites. Adhikari has also spoken about missions involving the recovery of bodies, but available reports do not provide a verified breakdown of how many of her roughly 100 flights involved survivor evacuation, body recovery or other tasks.

A disaster still unfolding

Nepal’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that 1,252 bodies had been recovered, around 4,200 people remained missing and 11,993 people had been rescued. Search operations remained focused partly on hydropower tunnels, where hundreds of workers are still unaccounted for.

More than 9,300 Nepali Army personnel were deployed across affected areas from Timure in Rasuwa through Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan and Nawalparasi East, according to the latest official briefing. As RNA Media reported earlier, Indian, Chinese and South Korean specialists have been assisting Nepali teams with tunnel-rescue operations. The Nepali Army spokesperson, Raja Ram Basnet, reported on Thursday that two bodies had been recovered from the tunnel of the Langtang Khola hydropower plant.

Foreign nationals also remain among those unaccounted for. Nepal’s latest briefing said more than 300 foreign nationals had been rescued, including some who had established contact and were confirmed safe.

Reuters separately reported that at least 583 foreign nationals remained missing on Thursday, many of them pilgrims and trekkers. Authorities continue to revise the lists as people are rescued, identified or make contact.

India’s rescue and relief effort

India’s latest update said 166 Indian nationals had been rescued from Nepal, while 410 Indian nationals visiting Tibet for pilgrimage or other purposes had left China. As RNA Media reported on Thursday, a fifth Indian Air Force flight also reached Kathmandu carrying about 5.5 tonnes of medical supplies, an 11-member specialized team and more than six tonnes of rescue equipment, taking India’s total relief assistance to around 74 tonnes.

RNA Media has also reported on India’s specialized rescue and forensic deployment. Indian tunnel-rescue teams have worked at the Chilime and Langtang sites, while a 19 member forensic team in Kathmandu has been analysing DNA samples with Nepali experts to assist in identifying recovered bodies. Nepal’s foreign ministry said tunnel teams from India, China and South Korea continued working alongside Nepali teams as rescue operations for people still missing entered another day.