An Indian Air Force helicopter, which was returning after delivering food packets to remote flood-affected areas in Darbhanga, made an emergency landing in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on Wednesday.
"We initiated the rescue operation, assisted by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and successfully rescued the four officials onboard, including the pilot and co-pilot. They were taken to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) for treatment, though there were no reports of injuries," Muzaffarpur District Magistrate Subrat Kumar Sen said.
He added that the Indian Air Force officials have been informed about the incident, and they will investigate the technical reasons behind the emergency landing.
Sen said that the helicopter was returning to Patna after delivering food packets to remote flood-affected areas of Darbhanga.
Sources said that the helicopter developed technical issues while flying over Muzaffarpur. "The pilot skillfully avoided a crash by landing the helicopter in the middle of the floodwater," sources said.
However, in an unfortunate turn of events, villagers arrived at the site by boat and looted the food packets from the helicopter.
The Indian Air Force was deployed for food distribution in flood-affected regions of Bihar following the orders of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The decision to involve the Air Force came after the Chief Minister conducted an aerial survey of the flood-stricken areas, including Champaran, Tirhut, Kosi, and Seemanchal, on Tuesday.
The flood has been exacerbated by unprecedented rainfall in Nepal's catchment areas, which led to the release of large volumes of water from the Valmikinagar Gandak Barrage and Kosi Barrage since September 27.
The flooding has impacted several districts, including West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Supaul, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Purnea, Araria, Katihar, and Kishanganj.
(With inputs from IANS)
