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Battling all odds, Navy and SLAF rescue stranded bus passengers with a never say die attitude
View(s):By Dilushi Wijesinghe
A tense, day-long rescue mission along Kala Oya concluded safely yesterday morning when the Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) jointly carried out an operation to save 67 people who sought refuge on an asbestos rooftop after getting stranded in a bus submerged in flood waters.
The operation began when an emergency response boat of the Rapid Action Boat Squadron was initially deployed to evacuate the passengers trapped in a flooded bus at around 9.15 a.m. on Thursday (27), Navy Media Spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath told the Sunday Times.
The SLAF’s first effort using a MI-17 aircraft was abandoned after crews determined that the aircraft’s powerful rotor downwash could further destabilise the half-submerged bus, Media Spokesman Group Captain Eanda Geeganage said .
The helicopter crew included seven specially-trained personnel, including pilots, flight engineers, winch operators and rescue specialists.
The Navy team then succeeded in reaching the victims and transporting them to the nearest safe location – a building’s roof where they awaited further transfer. However, worsening weather and environmental constraints prevented them being transported to a safer site.
A second attempt, also using the MI-17, was made by the Air Force to save the bus passengers who were now on the roof of the building. This too was abandoned when pilots reported that the asbestos roof – already cracked – was at risk of being further damaged by the helicopter’s air force.
A smaller Bell 212 helicopter was then deployed. However, the presence of a high-tension power line close to the building posed a risk during winching, forcing the SLAF to call off the effort.
A second Navy team was dispatched but failed to reach the isolated group as water pressure continued to increase.
Conditions deteriorated further when the outboard motor of the first Emergency Response Boat was damaged, leaving the naval crew stranded.
A third team was then mobilised, but submerged roads and flooding along the alternative approach routes made access nearly impossible.
The attempted rescue operations by air had to be eventually abandoned due to turbulent winds, low visibility and hazardous downwash conditions. The Navy then launched the fourth attempt with a specialised rescue team comprising the Special Boat Squadron (SBS), Rapid Action Boat Squadron units, and Navy divers who began their approach late yesterday evening.
Under pitch-dark skies and severe weather conditions, they successfully completed the rescue by boat yesterday, bringing the group of 67 including a German national to safety.
One passenger who was in a critical condition was immediately transferred to the Nochchiyagama hospital with assistance from the Air Force and the rest were taken for medical examination.
Five more stranded people in a closeby area were also rescued during the mission, bringing the tally of those rescued to 72.
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