Tougher than Everest rescues: Inside Nepal's biggest airlift

With roads and bridges severed, helicopters became the main rescue lifelineTrishuli Bazaar: With roads and bridges severed across Rasuwa and Nuwakot after the Aug 26 Bhote Koshi-Trishuli flood, helicopters became the main rescue lifeline, airlifting more than 4,000 people in hundreds of sorties through a narrow gorge in what officials described as possibly Nepal's biggest such operation.Pilots said the missions were tougher than Everest-season flying, with wrong coordinates, landing spots buried under mud, crowded skies, drones and false rescue alerts complicating operations.Talking to TOI at Maithili Barracks, where choppers were taking off and landing in Trishuli Bazaar, Captain Bimal Sharma of Simrik Air said Everest flights, despite the altitude, were more predictable. "Even during the