First missions Nepal Air Rescue Team
Nepal- The newly established Nepal Rescue Team, a co-operation between Swiss Air Zermatt and Nepalese Fishtail Air flew it’s first missions.
The team at work on Annapurna
ANNAPURNA
On the 28th of april the team was asked to come to the Annapurna mountain where a Spanish expedition was in need. One climber was exhausted after summiting the 8091 meter peak. He said he was snowblind and could not move his hands or legs. It was not clear at what altitude he was located. The rescue team at once started the mission from Kathmandu but could not reach base camp of Annapurna because of the bad weather. They went to Pokhara and spent the night there. The next morning at 6.00 hour in the morning the team started out again and flew to base camp without further problems. After a short meeting with the Spanish expedition leader it became clear that the missing climber was at around 7500 meter altitude. He was not answering the radio anymore. One Sherpa started in the night from camp 4, to try to reach the climber in need. In camp 4 (at 6950 meter altitude) there were three other climbers of the Spanish team, said to have High Altitude Sickness and frostbites.
In a reconnaissance flight, carried out by pilots Sabin Basnyat and Dani Aufdenblatten and a expedition doctor, the team found out that the missing climber was dead. After a short mission briefing in base camp the three other Spanish climbers in camp 4 were evacuated with a sling operation, one by one flown down to base camp at 4000 meter. Because of the high altitude, the the doors of the heli were removed.
The Sherpa who went up in the night, came safe back in camp 4 but did not want to be rescued with the helicopter. He walked down by him self.
MANASLU
On april 26th the team tried to save two missing Korean climbers from 7000 meter altitude on Manaslu. Unfortunately the rescuers located only one climber and found out that he was already dead. Because the terrain was steep and there was no request to recover the body, the team returned without taking the corpse. Lower down seven other climbers and sherpa’s of the Korean team were located. Three of them where at 6400 meter, four at 6200 meter. In four rotations they were evacuated by helicopter and brought down to base camp. All of them where exhausted and one was suffering from mountain sickness. Some had second-degree frostbite on their hands, feet and faces. On another helicopter they were flown to the hospital in Kathmandu.
The heli is approaching camp 2 at 6250 meter
3 climbers are waiting to be rescued at 6400 meter
KYAJO RI
On April 23th the team airlifted the dead body of Danish mountaineer Philip Ulrich at Mt. Kyajo Ri in the Khumbu valley. The climber fell to his death between the summit (6186 meter) and base camp. Sherpas were unable to retrieve his dead body, as he had landed at an inaccessible point. As there was no other way to retrieve the dead body, the Danish embassy finally requested the rescue team for help. The mission was carried out by Capt. Sabin Basnyat and Technician Purna Awale by using a AS 350 B3 helicopter. While Sabin Basnyat controlled the chopper, Purna Awale hung on to a 45 meter long rope and tied the dead body to a harness.
This was the first human sling operation which was carried out by Nepalese Capt. Sabin Basnyat and Technician Purna Awale after receiving training at Air Zermatt in Switzerland last month.
The search and recovery mission at Kyajo Ri
The Nepalese on training in Switzerland. Picture by Menno Boermans
