Flying high and dropping low: How a daring woman copter pilot saved wounded commando

In a daring rescue mission, Capt Reena Varughese saved a wounded commando during an eight-hour operation against Maoists in Gadchiroli. On Monday, Varughese, flying a Dauphin-N Pawan Hans helicopter, entered the Maoist stronghold 100 km from Gadchiroli to assist a C-60 commando wounded by gunfire, reported The Times of India.

Capt Varughese acted quickly, despite the chopper being a visible target for the Maoists' drones. Unable to land in the rocky, forested terrain, she handed control of the chopper to her co-pilot and jumped from an 11-foot hover to reach the injured commando. This commando had been bleeding for three hours from three gunshot wounds.

Drawing on her experience from past rescue missions in high-risk Maoist areas, Varughese managed the evacuation efficiently.


A ToI source commented, “Drawing from her experience in rescue and evacuation in high-risk zones, including Maoist-hit areas of Jagdalpur, Sukma, and Chintagufa in Chhattisgarh, Varughese demonstrated uncanny ability in taking up the challenge head-on.”

The commando was flown to Gadchiroli and then taken to a hospital in Nagpur, where his condition was stated to be stable.

Varughese, who has a degree in aeronautical engineering, has previously participated in evacuation operations during the Covid-19 pandemic, transporting patients from the Lakshadweep Islands to Kochi.

With inputs from ToI