Dehradun:
The morning after an air force helicopter crashed on a rescue mission in Uttarakhand, which has been ravaged by rain, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne visited his troops today to praise their heroic work and pay tribute to those who lost their lives while saving others.
"I met our boys today," he said, "I told them that rotors will not stop turning. We owe it to those who lost their lives in this rescue operation."
90,000 people have been rescued so far from remote parts of the hilly state despite doggedly inclement weather. 1,000 people have died, many of them pilgrims who were visiting four holy shrines in Uttarakhand.
With more than 40 aircraft involved, this is India's largest ever rescue and relief operation for the Air Force.
All 20 people on board the Mi-17 chopper that crashed yesterday have died; 12 bodies have been found so far by Garuds or highly-specialized commandos who descended from ropes into the narrow valley where the crash took place. The helicopter was returning from Kedarnath, the epicenter of the devastation caused by torrential rains and landslides.
"We are not sure if it was the weather or some secondary factor," the air force chief said. "We have recovered the cockpit voice recorder," he said, pointing out that information would be revealed in the next few weeks.
The five Air Force personnel who died in the crash have been identified as: Wing Commander Darryl Castelino, Flight Lieutenant K Praveen, Flight Lieutenant Tapan Kapoor and Junior Warrant Officer AK Singh and Sergeant Sudhakar Yadav.
The others belonged to the National Disaster Relief Force and the Indian Tibetan Border Force, which have been working with the military on rescue efforts.