Taru Carr-Hartley, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust pilot captured in a now viral video flying a helicopter that rescued a lorry driver whose vehicle had been trapped within the raging waters of the now flooded Sabaki River on Wednesday, has opened up about the daring rescue operation....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
On the day of the incident, Taru received a distress call from a Sheldrick Field Manager at Galana, around 4 pm, informing him that a fuel tanker that had just ferried fuel to the Galana National Irrigation Board (NIB) had encountered rising flood waters on its return back across Sabaki River due to heavy rains upstream.
NIB sent out a tractor to help pull out the lorry but by the time it arrived, the river’s fast-rising waters had pushed the truck off the causeway and into deep waters, making the rescue operation impossible.
Taru was in the company of his younger brother, Roan Carr-Hartley, who jumped into his helicopter when the pilot received the call.
“Thankfully, we were in a position to scramble the helicopter as soon as possible and rush down there. About 45 minutes from the call, we managed to be on site,” said Taru.
Taru could immediately tell that the driver of the lorry, who was reportedly stuck in the crocodile and hippo-infested river for almost six hours, was in a precarious position.
“When I looked through the chopper’s window, I could see the windscreen was smashed and the whole cabin was filling up with water. I’m sure that it was extremely frightening and challenging to be stuck on that lorry for all that time,” he said.
“Thankfully he knew straight away that we were here to help and he started making moves to get to the helicopter.” Hovering the helicopter just inches above the lorry was no easy task according to Taru.
“It required concentration. There was quite a few factors including across wind from my left side which makes everything more twitchy. The moving water underneath is a disorientating thing when you are trying to hover so still. So I had to focus on the truck intently so that I did not move away too far,” he said.
One wrong move also meant that Taru would put the life of his younger brother Roan in jeopardy.
“Roan was strapped in with a harness that we sometimes use for wildlife darting operations so he was able to get out of the chopper without being too restricted,” he said.
“I could see from the corner of my eye that Roan has gotten off the helicopter. So now he is standing on the truck helping the driver into the helicopter but I’m mindful since he’s still harnessed to the helicopter so if I drift ever so slightly left I’ll pull him off the truck and into the river and he’ll be hanging below the helicopter.”
Taru also had to ensure that the distance between the helicopter and the lorry remained constant throughout the operation to allow Roan enough time to get the driver on board.
The first thing the driver did when he entered the helicopter was to express his gratitude to the two brothers. “I could feel a sense of appreciation and a massive relief for his ordeal. He knew he was safe and it was massive appreciation, gratitude and a big sense of relief. I think he was a bit overwhelmed and everything…CONTINUE READING>>
