Flight Lieutenant Bhupinder Singh Chandel is serving with a Helicopter Unit. On 24th January, 1971, he was detailed to evacuate Army personnel from a picket in the Northern Sector. These men were suffering from acute frost bite find were in severe shock sustained during an unexpected blizzard and avalanche. The visibility was very poor and the picket was covered with a thick blanket of snow. While flying over the area, Flight Lieutenant Chandel found that hoisting of casualties by the Rescue Hoist was not possible due to strong winds. He, therefore, executed a landing on difficult side and succeeded in evacuating five men, in a serious condition, to the base hospital. It was because of his fine performance that the lives of these five men were saved. |