Indian Air Force pilots use night vision goggles to rescue 121 from Sudan airstrip sans landing lights

Bravingall odds, including a bad airstrip and poor night vision, Indian Air Force personnel on the intervening night of 27 April and 28, rescued 121 people from Wadi Sayyidna in Sudan in an IAF C-130J heavy-lift aircraft.

The airstrip is about 40 km north of the violently tumultuous Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

The surface of the airstrip had deteriorated. There was no fuel or navigational help, and most importantly, there were no landing lights, which are necessary to guide an aircraft landing at night. But brave IAF personnel made use of NVGs, or night vision goggles, to successfully land at the airstrip and rescued the people.

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A pregnant lady was among those who did not have transportation to Port Sudan, the main transit hub from which the Indian government is rescuing its residents using military aircraft and navy ships. All were safely rescued.

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“Approaching the airstrip, the aircrew used their Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure that the runway was free from any obstructions and no inimical forces were in the vicinity. Having made sure of the same, the aircrew carried out a tactical approach on Night Vision Goggles, on a practically dark night,” the IAF reportedly said.

“Upon landing, the aircraft engines were kept running while eight IAF Garud Commandos secured the passengers and their luggage into the aircraft. As with the landing, the take-off from the unlit runway was also carried out using NVGs. This approximately two-and-a-half-hour operation between Wadi Sayyidna and Jeddah will go down in the annals of IAF history for its sheer audacity and flawless execution — akin to that carried out in Kabul,” the IAF added.

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India began "Operation Kaveri" to rescue its citizens who were stranded in Sudan. The army of Sudan and the paramilitary have been engaged in violence for a power grab that has allegedly claimed hundreds of lives.

On Friday, a second batch of the C-130J flight carrying 135 trapped Indians departed the crisis-stricken nation, the 12th batch travelling to Jeddah.

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"An IAF C-130J takes off from Port Sudan with 135 passengers for Jeddah. This marks the 12th batch of stranded Indians evacuated under #OperationKaveri," ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

The 300-passenger INS Sumedha, which is stationed at Port Sudan, had also departed the nation in turmoil for Jeddah. Up to 2,400 Indians have left Sudan because of fighting between the army and paramilitary groups.

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