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Group Captain Ashok Kumar
| Service No & Branch | 24900 F(P) |  | |||||||
| Date of Birth: | Commissioned: 20 Dec 1997 | Course: 160 Course | |||||||
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| Google the Bharat Rakshak Website for : "A Kumar" | |||||||||
| Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) | ||||
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| Sqn Ldr | Ashok Kumar | 24900 F(P) | Award Date 30 Sep 2009 | Announced 15 Aug 2010 |
| Details : | Squadron Leader Ashok Kumar (24900) Flying (Pilot)is on the posted strength of Helicopter Training School (HTS) since 21 Jun 09. On 30 Sep 09, at around 1530h HTS was tasked to rescue five youths stranded in the middle of Dindi River (120 KM South of Hyderabad) due to flash floods. On receipt of this information, despite his extremely limited experience on type, Sqn Ldr Ashok volunteered for the task. On reaching the site, the crew realised the extreme danger the stranded persons faced due the fast rising current, and swung into action immediately. Sqn Ldr Ashok as winch operator, along with the other crew members, rescued the five stranded persons in an expeditious manner. Any delay in the rescue would have resulted in certain death of these stranded youths. Sqn Ldr Ashok again volunteered to take part in the subsequent relief operations conducted by the school in the districts of Kurnool and Mehboobnagar during the floods which devastated Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the first week of October 09. During these operations, he was instrumental in rescuing 19 persons marooned in flood waters at different locations around Kurnool as a winch operator. One rescue mission carried out on 05 Oct 09 was achieved under exceptionally demanding circumstances, wherein the crew had to rescue a family of four members including two small children, who had been marooned on a tree submerged in several feet of fast flowing flood waters for three days. The rescue mission was demanding since the crew could neither see the persons nor access them conventionally. With his ingenuity and quick thinking, Sqn Ldr Ashok innovatively floated the rescue harness to the marooned family and winched them up through the thick branches of the tree, at times even dragging them for a few feet through the flood waters. To achieve this successful rescue, he displayed a high level of skill, quick and decisive thinking as well as crew co-ordination and control of a high order, as the aircraft had to be continually repositioned in the process of rescue. During the entire flood relief operations he flew numerous sorties from first light to sunset, which included six rescue missions saving 24 lives in highly demanding situations, exacting terrain and marginal weather. For this act of exceptional courage, Hon'ble President is pleased to award 'Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry)' to Squadron Leader Ashok Kumar. | |||
| Unit : HTS | ||||
| Reference : Air Force Day Booklet | ||||
Articles from Main Site
A WW2 Pilot's Story - Neville Gill by S Nanda Kumar - Obituary: Air Marshal Partha Kumar Dey AVSM PVSM by Gp Capt Kapil Bhargava -
The data in the header section of this page comes from the Gazette of India - Click here to see the source
The URL for this page is http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Database/24900
Note: All the data available here is publicly available in the Gazette of India, published by the Indian Government, or from public domain sources, press releases about Awards and Right-To-Information (RTI) Requests. Additionally data shared by veterans is added to the page with permission. No data with respect to serving officers below the rank of AVM is displayed. Information in Gazette of India and Award citations and photographs as released by the Indian Air Force are the only details displayed.