Operation
‘Daredevils’
An epic
operation by ITBP for humanity and human values
Vivek Kumar Pandey
The most difficult high altitude search and retrieval
mission ‘Daredevils’ carried out by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
mountaineers in Nanda Devi East will always be remembered as an epic to the humanity
and human values. The 15 member team of the ITBP led by Ratan Singh Sonal, 2nd
In Command took 20 days and struggled over 500 hours continuously against high
velocity cold winds, bad weather, snow hazards and other terrain and altitude
challenges including minus 20 degree temperature. In a never before seen
operation in such a situation, these brave ITBP men finally searched the bodies
of seven mountaineers and took them out from snow at an altitude of 19000 ft.
After
rescuing 4 mountaineers (All British) from Nanda Devi Base on 2nd
July, 2019, due to the limitations of flying machines, it was not possible to
carry the dead bodies through helicopters from that altitude. ITBP men, then
decided to take the bodies by carrying them physically from 19000 feet to 15000
feet through extremely difficult ridge coming in between. This was the most
difficult part of the operation.
It was a
never before seen operation in which the ITBP men tested their high altitude skills
also in such an extreme condition where dead bodies were to be searched,
retrieved and then to be transported. First of all, after finding, they lifted
the 7 dead bodies one by one after digging them out from the snow. They offered
due dignity and respect to the dead. In the nights, they even slept besides the
dead bodies protecting them as if they are part of the team. The bodies were
found on 23 June, 2019 and finally taken to Pithoragarh on 3 July, 2019. The 12
days’ of being there with those retrieved from snow will remain in the minds of
the team of ITBP mountaineers forever.
Nanda Devi
is a sacred mountain in the Kumaon Himalayas. The locals worship the mountain
and have many folk tales of the Devi. The ITBP mountaineers in their each
success during the operation; worshiped the Devi and chanted ‘Nanda Devi maiyya
ki jai’ which gave them strength. Usually, ITBP, while performing its routine
security duties also in the higher himalyas always respect the local traditions
and pay respect to the mountains. It helps ITBP personnel to face the nature’s
fury at times as they always go by the local experience and adopt flexibility
according to the weather, terrain and other challenges.
Whenever
the temperature rose, the bodies were provided with the snow cover by the
mountaineers so that decomposition rate of the bodies could be slowed down. They tried so hard to retrieve the eighth missing
mountaineer, but even after 5 days of efforts, same was not succeded. Instead,
some belongings of the mountaineers were recovered from the spot. GPS, Ice Axe,
Communication set, ropes, carabiners etc were found. The team got so emotional
when they saw a small penguin doll wrapped in a polythene bag lying beside a
dead body of a mountaineer. Later, I got a message from a friend of the
Australian Mountaineer Ruth McCance, and that, this doll belongs to her friend
and its name is ‘Pinga McSack’.
To take the
bodies to lower altitude, top class mountaineering skills were required to be practiced
with letter and spirit. ITBP is well known for its mountaineering and adventure
sports’ skill and training and since its Inception in 1962, the force personnel
are known as the pioneers in the mountaineering world. The force has
successfully completed 212 Mountaineering expeditions and has the best
mountaineers in the country. Every Frontier of the force organizes special
mountain expedition every year to expose its men in the field and art of the
high altitude mountaineering. In the basic training itself, the ITBP personnel
are trained in rock craft and climbing techniques.
The highest
border outpost of the ITBP along the high altitude Himalayan border is located
at 18,800 feet. The ITBP personnel guard the icy frontiers in the Himalayas traversing
through 20 to 22 thousand feet at times as a routine. After such grooming and mountain
exposure, ITBP has become second to none in such mountains operations and that
is why ‘Daredevils’ was completed with high standards of professionalism displayed
by some of the toughest mountaineers. The team of ‘Daredevils’ consisted of the
mountaineers who have scaled Mt. Everest, Dhaulagiri, Mukut, Satopanth and many
other high peaks in the Himalayas in the past.
With this,
the ITBP has once again proved that due to its deployment in high altitude
areas and tough training its men undergo; the Force is one of the best organization
in rescue and relief operations. The entire world had witnessed how ITBP
rescued more than 33 thousand pilgrims from a grave disaster in Uttarakhand in
2013.
In the
Himalayas every year, many road accidents/ landslide incidents happen in which
ITBP responds as a first responder and saves precious lives of citizens. In the
ongoing Amarnath Yatra, a video of ITBP Jawans shielding the pilgrims from
shooting stones went viral. This is an example how ITBP jawans always remain at
the forefront in such a situation where eminent danger from nature’s fury
exists.
