CONSTRUCTION OF BHIMBALI HELIPAD AND DECISION TO GO TO KEDARNATH ON FOOT Captain Pandey carried out three sorties to drop off the entire rescue team at the helipad just short of Rambada called Bhimbali. It can be clearly seen in the picture that the helicopter landed on a cliff edge, without even the entire skid getting solid ground to sit upon. After the main work of looking for mules had been done in the first three days, we flattened solid rock near to the helipad, made a pushta to extend the helipad and made a circle to make landing easier for future pilots. After waiting on cliff tops for a message to arrive regarding the helicopter that would take us back, we found out that no pilot was ready to land at Bhimbali. Captain Pandey had gone on leave. We immediately sent for a message to be called back but got no reply. Consequently we decided to head to Kedarnath on foot. With landslides happening on all sides and with no likelihood of getting airlifted from the place, Bhimbali was too dangerous to stay in for a fourth day.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 13:32:45 +0000
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