Adhikari, 40, has flown around 100 rescue missions in less than a week, as floods and mudslides across Nepal and Tibet have killed more than 1,000 people and left thousands missing. As Nepal battles the aftermath of devastating floods and mudslides, Priya Adhikari, the country’s first woman helicopter captain, has been flying almost non-stop to rescue survivors from some of the worst-hit areas.
Around 20 helicopters have been operating over Timure village in Nepal’s flood-hit Rasuwa district, where many people remain missing. She has flown rescue missions at altitudes of up to around 6,200 metres. Pilots therefore have to keep their aircraft powered throughout the rescue, Adhikari said.
Adhikari said the pilots have to remain in constant radio contact as they coordinate rescue efforts. At times, five or six helicopters are landing at the same location to evacuate survivors. The conditions on the ground make the missions particularly dangerous. Thick mud in several areas means helicopters cannot safely land and shut down. Adhikari later specialised in high-altitude rescue flying, carrying out search-and-rescue missions in the Himalayas and helping rescue injured climbers from Mount Everest. Years of high-altitude flying and rescue work have prepared her for dangerous missions. But even that experience has been tested by the scale of the current disaster.
