Sgt Sudhakar Yadav, VM

Sudhakar Yadav was a  Seargent in IAF and was posted to 157 Helicopter unit during Kedarnath tragedy that took place in 2013.

 

 

 

 

On 25 June 2013 Sgt Yadav along with the captain and Crew of the Mi-17 helicopter were tasked to move essential supplies and National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams to Kedarnath, located at an elevation of over 11000 feet and rescue stranded pilgrims from Kedarnath during the return sorties. Inclement weather, frequently drifting clouds and poor light conditions prevalent in the unforgiving terrain of the narrow valley led to frequent delays in the operations and this made their task extremely demanding. Realizing the gravity of their task and the criticality of an evacuation of some of the stranded pilgrims, Sgt Yadav, and other crew volunteered for the critical mission and got airborne in the first available window of opportunity to position his helicopter at Guptakashi. During the return leg from Kedarnath to Guptakashi, the aircraft impacted on the steep slopes of the valley and crashed. The weather was so bad at that time that it took a long time for rescue teams to reach the crash site. On that day the helicopter carried out three sorties which were undertaken under deteriorating weather conditions. During these three sorties, they successfully saved 80 precious lives.

 

 

For this act of conspicuous courage, professional competence and successful execution of a risky mission to save precious lives in hostile weather conditions Sgt Sudhakar Yadav were posthumously awarded  “Vayu Sena Medal“.

 

 

A large numbers of pilgrims had been stranded in the narrow valleys of Kedarnath, for over five days without food and water. The Mi-17 V5 helicopter with crew rose to the occasion and promptly commenced rescue operations from 21 Jun 2013 onwards. They were charged with an onerous responsibility of saving as many lives as possible under extremely challenging conditions. The crew flew over 22 critical rescue missions, resulting in saving more than 190 pilgrims who were stranded in the worst affected areas of the Kedarnath valley.

 

Sgt sudhakar yadav  and his crew were on 25 Jun 2013, the captain and Crew of the Mi-17 helicopter were tasked to move essential supplies and National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams to Kedarnath, located at  an elevation of over 11000 feet and rescue stranded pilgrims from Kedarnath during the return sorties. Fully aware of the criticality of the mission on that particular day involving some of the more grievously wounded / traumatized  pilgrims.  Inclement weather, frequently drifting clouds and poor light conditions prevalent  in the  unforgiving  terrain of the narrow valley led to frequent delays in the operations and this made his task extremely demanding. Realizing the gravity of  their task and the criticality of evacuation for some of the stranded pilgrims, volunteered for the critical mission and got airborne in the first available window of opportunity to position his helicopter at Gupkashi. Flt Lieutenant Krishnamoorthy Praveen and his crew volunteered for the critical mission and got airborne in the first available window of opportunity to position his helicopter at Guptakashi. On that day, the helicopter carried out three sorties which were undertaken under deteriorating weather conditions. During these three sorties, the crew saved 80 lives.

During the return leg from Kedarnath to Guptakashi, the aircraft impacted on the steep slopes of the valley and crashed. The weather was so bad at that time that it took a long time for rescue teams to reach the crash site. On that day the helicopter carried out three sorties which were undertaken under deteriorating weather conditions. During these three sorties, they successfully saved 80 precious lives. During the return leg  from Kedarnath to Guptkashi the helicopter impacted on the steep slopes off valley resulting in their supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. For his acts of conspicuous courage, professional competence and successful execution of a risk mission to save precious lives in hostile weather conditions in an extremely inhospitable environment Sergeant Sudhakar Yadav  has been posthumously awarded  “Vayu Sena Medal“.