IAF's dark night airlift to rescue Army jawan injured from Ladakh sector

New Delhi: An Indian Army personnel, whose hand had got severed while operating a machine at a unit located in a forward area, was brought to a Delhi hospital after a "dark night airlift" by an IAF C-130J aircraft from Ladakh sector, officials said on Friday.

The jawan underwent an emergency surgery at the Army's Research Referral (R&R) Hospital here, and his severed hand was stitched back, they said.

Sources said the incident took place on Wednesday, adding, the personnel was first evacuated to Leh air base and from there a Super Hercules airlifted him to Palam air force station in Delhi.

From the time he was brought to the Leh air base to the time he was brought to Delhi, "the span was about four hours," and this "superior coordination" between the Army and the IAF ensured the injured jawan's critical surgery could be performed in time to stitch back his severed hand, a source told PTI.

On Friday morning, the Indian Air Force posted on X about the emergency airlift and also shared a photo of the patient recuperating at the hospital.

An #IndianArmy personnel severed his hand while operating a machine, at a unit located in the forward area. Given a window of 6 to 8 hrs for emergency surgery to save his appendage, an IAF C-130J aircraft was launched within an hour to move the jawan for surgery at the R & R hospital in Delhi," it posted.

The IAF official said it was a "dark night airlift" and NVGs (night vision goggles) were used.

"The injured personnel received medical attention promptly due to the dark night airlift on NVGs from Ladakh sector by #IAF. A dedicated team of medical personnel carried out a successful surgery and the jawan is now on his path to recovery," the IAF wrote in its post.

In April 2023, the IAF, as part of an operation to rescue a batch of people from strife-torn Sudan, had carried out landing and take off of a C-130J aircraft from a degraded airstrip there, with its air crew using night vision goggles on a practically dark night.