Itanagar, March 10: The Indian Air Force on March 10 deployed a Mil Mi‑17 helicopter to tackle a forest fire in the Mebo and Sigar areas of Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, releasing around 66,000 litres of water over several sorties to contain the blaze.
Sharing details of the operation on the social media platform X, the Air Force posted images and videos of the large-scale firefighting mission and highlighted the force’s rapid response in preventing the flames from spreading toward nearby habitations.
According to the IAF, the helicopter conducted multiple water-dropping sorties over the affected forested areas to bring the fire under control and safeguard surrounding settlements. The operation demonstrated the force’s operational capability in responding quickly to emergencies in challenging terrain.
Earlier, on February 18, the IAF had also responded to wildfire emergencies in the Northeast, including at Walong, where helicopters extinguished a major blaze by dropping 139,800 litres of water despite difficult terrain and extreme flying conditions.
Separately, the Air Force and the Indian Army carried out a joint exercise on March 8 over Tehri Lake, demonstrating combat free-fall and static line para-drops as part of efforts to showcase inter-service coordination and operational readiness.
