File Photo: Mount Everest (Reuters)
For about 70 climbers on Mount Everest base camp, hit by the devastating earthquake in Nepal, Captain Ritesh Goel of the Indian Army was a life saver.
Captain Goel, who has also served in the Siachen, was part of the 30-member strong Indian Army expedition team to Mount Everest.
The 28-year-old not only provided first-aid and stabilised nearly 70 climbers, some with broken legs and hands, he also manage 8 casualties with serious head injuries for about 14-hours before they were rescued via helicopters.
"There was a massive avalanche. There was utter chaos at the base camp (17,500 ft) because the avalanche had engulfed a huge part of the base camp," Major General Ajay Sah told reporters in New Delhi at the Army headquarters.
Giving a description of what transpired, he said the base camp was like a mini city with hundreds of tents.
"Almost half of the base camp was engulfed by the avalanche which was accompanied by high velocity winds. Fortunately, our team had followed basic precaution and had undertaken counter-avalanche drills like posting a look out person," the Major General said.
The officer explained that the team was able to get out of tents in time and get behind shelter, thus surviving the initial impact.
"A few suffered some minor bruises. Bulk of our tents and storage were either blow away or buried in the snow. Many other team camping in the base camp were not as lucky and were trapped in their tents leading to casualty," he said.
The Army team managed to recover most of their material and Captain Goel set up a small medical aid post.
"There were a few doctors available in the base camp who joined in. They were able to stabilise almost 70 casualties" the Major General said pointing out that air evacuation could take place only the next day.