KOCHI: The armed forces personnel exhibited exemplary courage in rescuing the stranded people in flood-raved Kerala during the past one week. There have been tales of valiant efforts in challenging conditions to shift the marooned flood victims.
Captain P Rajkumar is one such officer who won kudos and accolades by stretching himself beyond the limits to save the hapless flood victims.
Rajkumar, who landed the SeaKing chopper on a narrow rooftop to save 26 persons in a single sortie on Friday, came to the rescue of a wheel chair-bound woman on Monday, winching her while maintaining a rock steady hover.
The woman was rescued from a house situated between Aluva and Chalakudy. The water had entered the house and the woman a paraplegic was unable to move out. Captain Rajkumar lowered the copter and winched the woman with the help of an officer. The operation was challenging as they had to keep the chopper steady while pulling up the woman from the small terrace situated amid high roofs.
Capt P Rajkumar, hailing from Nilambur in Malappuram, had won the Shourya Chakra for his bravery during the rescue of fishermen from rough sea during Cyclone Ockhi which left a trail of destruction along the Kerala coast.
He was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1987 and graduated as a helicopter pilot from the Helicopter Training School. A highly experienced naval aviator, Rajkumar has 5,000 hours to his credit during the 32 year-long career . He is a qualified flying instructor on both Chetak and SeaKing helicopters, with 3,000 hours of instructional flying. He was a member of the 10th and 11th Indian Scientific Mission to Antarctica and was awarded the Nao Sena Medal for Gallantry in 1992.
He was the pilot in command of a Seaking helicopter which rescued 12 stranded fishermen off the west coast which included a daring night search and rescue mission during Cyclone Ockhi. Presently he is the Officer-in-Charge of the flight and tactical Simulator at INS Garuda in Southern Naval Command.