Indian Air Force helicopter drops 15000 litres of water to put out fire on burning ship
The Indian Air Force carried out a rescue operation in the Bay of Bengal to help douse a major fire that had broken out onboard a merchant vessel. The mission saw the IAF use its helicopters to drop water on the fire to put it out.
The IAF responded to a call for help from the merchant vessel MV SSL Kolkata. The ship was off the shore of the Sunderbans in West Bengal. A fire onboard the ship had grown into a major one.
An IAF Mil Mi-17 helicopter took off from the helipad at the Frazergunj Harbour and spotted the burning ship. The chopper assessed the wind patterns and used a helicopter bucket to drop water on the fire.
The IAF has said it made six water runs with the chopper and dropped 15000 litres of water on the fire to bring it under control.
"The crew displayed great professionalism and dropped the water with pin point accuracy over the exact location of fire. The operations by IAF Mi-17 V5 Helicopter controlled the massive fire and fully doused it within a short period of time," read a post on social media by the IAF.