| |
2004 Tsunami: A Few Good Men and the Angry Sea is the inspiring story of how human endeavour on a tiny corner of the earth overcame one of the greatest natural disasters in history. Then Wing Commander BS Krishna Kumar was the Commanding Officer of the helicopter unit at Car Nicobar. In his recollection of that terrible day, he narrates how, once the violent earthquake had subsided, he thought the worst was over. But it was just the beginning of the nightmare:
We saw a large crowd of around 250 people who had taken refuge on the Radar Unit ramp. The ramp had already got separated from the two ends and another onslaught of waves would have taken away those lives. There was no time to lose. Winching of these people started, they were a mix of gents and ladies of all ages. Everyone was so panic-stricken that there was no control and people were hanging on to the winch cable in groups. Sgt B Singh of our unit, who was amongst them, managed to control the crowd and we winched up people, sometimes two at a time.
When a tsunami hit India`s east coast on a bright Sunday morning on 26 December 2004, it stunned India and the world. It was as if the sea had suddenly decided to wash away some hubs of human activity, and show the world what nature could do. The Car Nicobar Islands, the eastern most territory of our country, were among the worst-affected. The Indian Air Force lost 116 personnel on its base in Car Nicobar. India officially lost more than ten thousand people and thousands remain unaccounted for even today.
Eleven officers and a group of dedicated IAF men, including then Wing Commander Nitin Sathe, were given a hundred-day deadline to not only put the base back on its feet but get it combat ready. Ten years on, now Air Commodore Sathe, recalls how, with courage and determination, the IAF brought its Car Nicobar base to life.
ISBN - 9789382711544
|
| |
Pages : 176
|