Daring Rescue Op by IAF Pilots Using Night Vision to Evacuate 121 Persons from Sudan’s Destroyed Airstrip

New Delhi: Pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) took up a daring operation to rescue 121 persons from a damaged small airstrip at Wadi Sayyidna, about 40 km North of Khartoum in Sudan. They had no means to reach Port Sudan. The evacuees included a pregnant woman.

Led by the Indian Defence Attaché in Sudan, the convoy reached the destroyed airstrip. The airstrip had a damaged and it had no navigational aid or landing lights.

Despite all these stumbling blocks, the brave IAF pilots managed to land the plane at the airstrip using night vision goggles. After landing, the aircraft engines were kept running while eight IAF Garud Commandos secured the passengers and their luggage into the aircraft. The takeoff from the unlit runway was also carried out using Night Vision Goggles.

The operation lasted approximately two and a half hours.