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Priya Adhikari has flown more than 100 rescue missions in just seven days. He has played an important role in evacuating people stranded in areas badly affected by floods and landslides near the Nepal-Tibet border. These include Timure area of ​​Rasuwa district, where the situation is said to be very difficult.

Flying and landing a helicopter in high mountains is already challenging, but after floods and landslides the situation has become more dangerous. At many places there is a thick layer of mud on the ground and the ground which appears strong from the sky can sink under the weight of the helicopter.

Many helicopters at one place, constant coordination over radio.

Talking to CNN, Captain Priya Adhikari said that during the rescue operation, many helicopters are flying continuously in the same area. In such a situation, pilots have to constantly maintain contact and coordination with each other through radio. He told that sometimes a situation arises where five or six helicopters land at the same place, because as many people as possible have to be evacuated safely as soon as possible.

The difficulty is not limited to just landing the helicopter. At many places the ground is so unstable that it is not safe to even switch off the engine after landing the helicopter. In such a situation, pilots have to board people in the helicopter while keeping the engine running and then take off immediately.

Who is Priya Adhikari? 10 Points

1. Priya Adhikari is an experienced high-altitude helicopter pilot. She is known for search and rescue missions in the Himalayan areas. In her career, she has also flown in high altitude areas to rescue injured mountaineers.
2. In some rescue operations, Priya has even taken helicopters to a height of about 6,200 meters. As altitude increases, challenges to wind, weather and helicopter capability increase. Therefore such missions require special experience and training.
3. Priya Adhikari’s journey to reach aviation was also quite different. He studied environmental science and initially worked as cabin crew. After this, a helicopter joy ride created a passion for flying in him. She decided to become a pilot and went to the Philippines to take training in flying helicopters.
4. After completing the required flying hours, Priya started working as a full-time helicopter pilot in 2017. Gradually she gained expertise in rescue missions in high altitude areas and later became Nepal’s first woman helicopter captain.
5. The devastation that Priya Adhikari saw from above during the recent floods and landslides in Nepal was very emotional for her too. r
6. There was huge devastation after flash flood in Timure area of ​​Suva district. He saw many dead bodies in the area. More than 200 people were helped in evacuating safely in the first two days.
7. According to Priya, the infrastructure in the area has been destroyed on a large scale. He told that many hydropower projects also got hit by floods… but amidst this devastation, when he sees a living person waiting for help, that very sight gives him the strength to fly ahead.
8. Priya Adhikari said that when she lands in an affected area in a helicopter and sees people waving at her, she feels a different kind of hope. At such a time, telling people, ‘You have been saved’ is an emotional moment for her too… because on one hand she is trying to save people, while on the other hand she also gets a glimpse of those people who have lost their lives in this disaster.
9. Due to carrying out rescue missions for several days continuously, fatigue is also increasing among the pilots. Priya Adhikari said that most of the pilots are very tired due to continuous flights, but they have been trained for such difficult missions.
10. The current disaster in Nepal has also severely tested their years of experience and training. He described it as one of the most difficult rescue operations of his career.

According to Priya, in some cases this experience has been more difficult than the devastation seen during the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Still he and his team are continuously flying. His message is clear – no matter how difficult the situation, the rescue team has to do its job. We have taken training for this.