On 26 December 2004, Air Force Station Carnicobar was devastated by a severe earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale, lasting for ten to fifteen minutes, followed by Tsunami waves. As the disaster struck, Group Captain Bandopadhay, unmindful of his personal safety, rushed to all accessible areas of Air Force Station exhorting and guiding people to move to safer areas. While moving around the Station , he met the CO of Helicopter unit and requested him to immediately launch a helicopter sortie. This led to prompt rescue operation and ultimately saved hundreds of lives. In the process, he also entered a submerged area to rescue a stranded child. Even as huge Tsunami waves were approaching the area, he took several women and children in his vehicle and dropped them to a safer place. In process, he was hit by the wave and washed away. He somehow managed to hold on to a tree for a couple of hours to save his life. As water receded, he continued his mission of search and rescue and providing succor to devastated people.

Throughout he displayed exemplary courage and fortitude.

On 26 December 2004, Air Force Station was devastated by a severe earthquake which was followed by Tsunamis. Squadron Leader Panickar could not escape the fury and was washed away by the tidal waves. He held on for his life on a tree trunk, which was adrift for nearly an hour before reaching the safety of firm ground.

Immediately after surviving the onslaught of Tsunami waves, he organized rescue teams and started the arduous task of looking for survivors and recovering and identifying the bodies of the deceased. He personally went to several submerged areas to look for survivors. Looking for survivors in an area strewn with debris, unstable buildings, reptiles and a coastline redefined by the tsunami was a task, which required any individual to draw immensely from this internal resource of courage. Squadron Leader Sudhakar was among the very few who dared to undertake this task with total disregard for his personal safety. He subsequently organized the panic stricken surviving personnel, families and civilians into manageable groups so that a “headcount” could be carried out and medical aid/food could be distributed to those who needed it urgently. For the next few days, Squadron Leader Sudhakar took on the extremely difficult task of identification, documentation and cremation of the bodies. Handling bodies in advanced stages of decomposition is a task, which does not draw many volunteers. Squadron Leader Sudhakar was able to motivate a team of officers and airmen to assist him in this unpleasant task.

Squadron Leader Pulluvallyil Raman Sudhakar Panickar displayed exemplary courage and gallantry beyond call of duty in the face of severe adversity.

On 26 December 2004, Air Force Station Carnicobar was devastated by a severe earthquake which was followed by Tsunamis. On noticing the increasing waves, Squadron Leader Tammeneni Srinivasulu, immediately started warning others and advised them to move towards the runway, as it was comparatively higher. During this process of helping others, he himself went into chest deep turbulent waters, thereby risking his own life.

After extricating himself, he started moving towards the runway when he heard some cries for help. He personally went to several submerged areas to look for survivors to help them. Looking for survivors in an area strewn with debris, unstable buildings and coastline redefined by tsunami was a task, which required any individual to draw immensely from his internal resource of courage. He re-entered the waters and rescued some of the survivors, mostly ladies and children, who were hanging on trees and moved them to the safety of high ground. After ensuring safety of the people he had rescued, he began to look for others who might still be alive. In the process, he sustained several injuries including a deep cut on his foot. Undeterred by the injuries and the turbulent waters, Squadron Leader Srinivasulu continued his search and was able to recover three bodies on the first day, before they could be washed back to the sea.

Squadron Leader Tammeneni Srinivasulu displayed exemplary moral and physical courage in the service of mankind with total disregard to his personal safety in the face of sever adversity.

On 26 December 2004, Air Force Station Car Nicobar was devastated by a severe earthquake followed by Tsunamis. In a short span of time, the dangerous wave engulfed the area. Flight Lieutenant Arisetty Vijay Kumar realizing the danger of the devastating waves risked his life for saving the personnel. He rushed to stranded personnel and led them to the runway, which was the highest point on the airfield, knowing that any delay could have endangered his own life. His courageous and brave actions helped to save the life of many personnel. After the devastating Tsunami the entire Air Force Station was in a great trauma due to massive loss of lives and property. Buildings had collapsed and trees uprooted. Immediately after that Flight Lieutenant Vijay Kumar started up a helicopter expeditiously for rescue mission. Flying as Co-Pilot to the Commanding Officer, under difficult flying conditions and limited safety margins, he displayed courage of a very high order and continued with rescue, despite risk to his own life. He flew for three hours continuously. Undeterred by fatigue and the danger of flying in extreme adverse conditions, Flight Lieutenant Vijay Kumar undertook the rescue tasks despite all odds and difficulties. Though the safety margins for flying were dangerously low, he dared to fly and winched up stranded personnel from rooftops, balconies and radar ramp where the area was extremely restricted. His actions in the face of natural calamity were a morale booster to others who emulated him in further rescuing the personnel.

Flight Lieutenant Arisetty Vijay Kumar displayed raw courage, gallantry and selfless devotion to the fellow beings, in the face of heavy odds in a natural disaster.

On 26 December 2004 at 0630 hours, Carnicobar was hit by severe Earthquake followed by Tsunami. During and after the Tsunami onslaught, Squadron Leader Sushil Vijay Sansare was involved in saving lives and organizing safe conduct of rescue and relief operations. After being hit by the first wave, he courageously waded through the chest deep water to help the stranded families in the buildings. Upon being hit by the second wave, he barely managed to evade the neck deep water and save his life by running towards tarmac. He instructed the crew to position the aircraft on the runway. He then went towards the submerged end of the runway entering into neck deep reptile infested water and helped 15 stranded families mostly ladies and children to the safety of high ground. He recovered two personnel almost dead and brought them towards ambulance, however inspite of his best efforts, they could not be revived. With the help of Sqn ground crew, the body of IOC manager was brought back from the rubble.

He organized the ATC personnel to recover all the communication equipment and fuel tankers immediately to the tarmac to refuel the helicopters towards uninterrupted rescue operations and for airlifting the stranded people. His relentless efforts toward search and rescue and total involvement in casualty evacuation/relief operations resulted in saving many lives. It aptly exhibited sense of 'Service Before Self'.

Squadron Leader Sushil Vijay Sansare, thus, showed exceptional courage and gallantry beyond call of duty, in saving lives in the face of natural disaster.