Leh: IAF rescues injured mountaineer

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday saved an injured mountaineer from Mountain Stok Kangri in Leh.

Reportedly, Pramesh Patel, 32, a resident of Pune was at an altitude of about 18,000 when he was rescued by the IAF.

A timely response from the district administration and the Air Force chopper services helped to rescue Patel.

The district administration received a message about an injured mountaineer at Stok Kangri.

The Siachen Pioneers immediately readied two helicopters and picked up the casualty at 12:15 p.m. The helicopters reached the spot within ten minutes.

The co-pilot Flight Lieutenant Shubham Gautam got out of helicopter and helped the mountaineers.

Upon landing, the patient was moved to SNM Hospital in Leh.

The formation was lead by Group Captain S Ramesh and Flight Lieutenant Shubham Gautam as co-pilot.

Captain of Second aircraft was Wing Commander A. Saxena and the copilot was Squadron Leader J.P. Parida.

Speaking about the incident, Deputy Commissioner Prasanna Ramaswamy G said, "The patient is stable and as per the observations, all his vital organs are stable and functioning normally. The administration is making arrangement to shift the patient immediately to Delhi for further treatment."

Patel is being moved to PGI for further treatment via Army flight.