Critically ill shepherd rescued from remote Bara Bhangal after 36-hour operation

Bharmour additional district magistrate (ADM) Vikas Sharma said the Chamba administration received information about the ailing shepherd from the Kangra administration on the night of July 17

A 13-member rescue team rescued a critically ill shepherd from the remote Bara Bhangal area of Kangra district, one of the remotest villages in Himachal Pradesh, after inclement weather made a helicopter rescue impossible.

Mountaineering rescue team members carry an injured person on a stretcher along the trails of the Bada Bhangal, in Kangra on Monday. (PTI)

A special mountaineering rescue team was constituted in Bharmour, Chamba, to carry out the rescue. The operation lasted more than 36 hours and was overseen by Pankaj Mahant, an instructor at the Mountaineering Institute in Bharmour.

Bharmour additional district magistrate (ADM) Vikas Sharma said the Chamba administration received information about the ailing shepherd from the Kangra administration on the night of July 17. “A helicopter rescue could not be carried out due to adverse weather conditions, following which a special rescue team was dispatched from Bharmour to trek to Bara Bhangal and evacuate him,” he said.

The rescue team navigated difficult and treacherous mountain terrain to reach the shepherd. The first rescue team, comprising four members, left Bharmour early on July 18 and reached Bara Bhangal in the evening.

Another team of seven members left Bharmour at around 11.30am on July 18, but had to stay overnight at Dharadi Grounda as they could not reach Bara Bhangal by evening due to inclement weather.

The evacuation began around 11.30am on July 19. They also sought the help of two locals as the shepherd could not be carried by the rescuers alone. “Carrying the shepherd on a stretcher, the rescue team reached Dharadi Grounda in Bharmour at around 9.30 pm on July 19, from where he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance,” Sharma said.

The shepherd was taken to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Government Medical College and Hospital in Chamba for treatment. Officials said the operation was completed through prompt decision-making by the administration and coordination among various departments.

Meanwhile, three labourers were rescued in the Holi area of Chamba district after a flash flood struck the area on Monday. Officials said the rescue operation, carried out through coordination among the police, local administration and residents, took around two hours.