When the horrors of nature are at their peak, then man's bravery and passion emerge as the only ray of hope. Neighboring country Nepal is going through a severe natural disaster these days, where the devastating floods and deadly landslides caused by continuous torrential rains have written a new history of devastation. Many remote and mountainous areas of the country are completely cut off from the rest of the world, and scary pictures of devastation and destruction are emerging from all sides. In such a very dangerous and deadly environment, a story of humanitarian service and indomitable courage has come to light which has attracted the attention of the entire world. Nepal's first female helicopter captain Priya Adhikari, without caring for her own life, has acted as an angel for the people standing on the verge of death. He has saved the lives of countless helpless people by successfully carrying out a record 100 risky rescue missions in less than a week, i.e. just six days. This extraordinary and courageous act of his has proved that when the intentions are strong, no natural disaster or insurmountable situation can shake the courage of a person. This rescue operation was more dangerous and challenging than the earthquake of 2015. How frightening and challenging this entire relief and rescue operation was can be gauged from the fact that Captain Priya Adhikari herself has described it as the most difficult experience of her entire career. In his interview to CNN, he clearly said that dealing with the disaster this time and evacuating people safely proved to be more difficult and more deadly than the devastating Nepal earthquake of 2015, which shook the entire country. A large part of the devastation this time was concentrated within a very narrow and deep valley, where landing the helicopter and gaining access there was no less than a big challenge. The weather changing every second, strong winds, and the threat of death looming in the sky, flying amidst all this was not within the power of ordinary pilots. But Priya Adhikari made this seemingly impossible task possible by showing her amazing aviation art and wisdom. He landed his helicopter at many narrow and dangerous places, including the worst flood affected and inaccessible Timure area of Rasuwa district, where even very experienced pilots were reluctant to go. His courageous style has surprised everyone and forced him to admire his professional skills. Who is Captain Priya Adhikari? The journey from cabin crew to the Himalayan sky, the success of 41 year old Captain Priya Adhikari did not happen overnight, but behind it lies her long struggle, hard work and the spirit of never giving up. He is a highly experienced high-altitude helicopter pilot well-versed with the topography of the Himalayan regions, having successfully conducted search-and-rescue operations in inaccessible mountains for the last several years. His career so far has included many missions where he has had to go to very high altitudes to save the lives of trapped or injured mountaineers, and at times he has had to take his aircraft to a height of about 6,200 metres. However, his aviation journey has not been easy at all. He completed his early studies in Environmental Science and at the beginning of his career, he worked as cabin crew in airlines. One day a simple joyride in a helicopter aroused in him a deep interest in flying in the sky and becoming a pilot. After this there was no looking back and she went to Philippines to complete her commercial helicopter training. After completing her required flying hours there, she became a full-time helicopter pilot in 2017 and gradually mastered high-altitude rescue operations through her hard work. Today she has become a source of inspiration not only for the women of Nepal but also for the women of entire South Asia. Difficult terrain and muddy ground: how were these risky expeditions carried out? The massive rescue operation currently underway has been huge in scope and size, with around 20 helicopters deployed simultaneously to evacuate people from Timur and surrounding areas. The situation was so serious that many times several aircraft had to operate simultaneously in the same very small and narrow area. While sharing with the media, Captain Priya Adhikari said that sometimes five to six helicopters had to be landed simultaneously almost at the same time to rescue the survivors and trapped people in time. At such a time, to avoid any kind of serious accident in the air or mutual collision of planes, all the pilots kept in constant touch with each other through radio and coordinated the activities from moment to moment to ensure that everyone was working in the right direction. In addition, the geographical terrain there also posed a huge and invisible threat to the pilots. Due to severe flash floods and frequent mudslides, very thick layers of marshy and unstable mud had accumulated in many parts of the affected areas. When seen from the air above, the ground appeared absolutely solid and safe, but the pilots could never predict whether the ground would be able to support the weight of the heavy helicopter or not. Despite all these uncertainties and deadly dangers, the indomitable courage shown by Captain Priya Adhikari and her entire team has been recorded forever in the pages of history.
