Leek forest-fire under control

MANGAN, 09 Dec: The forest fire in the jungle above Leek village in Dzongu where a fighter jet had crashed last week is now under control, informed TW Lachungpa, Range Officer Forest, Territorial Division. The village, he informed is in no danger any more.

Forest fire sparked by jet crash continues, keeps Leek villagers worried

A NOW! file-foto of 01 December of the smoke billowing from the Jaguar Jet crash above Leek in North Sikkim. The crash has sparked a forest fire which continues to simmer on the slopes above Leek and has also damaged some cardamom plantations in the area.

MANGAN, 07 Dec: Residents of Leek village in Upper Dzongu are a worried lot - the fire that erupted in the forest above their village after an Indian Air Force Jet crashed there last week is still active and spreading. The fire has already damaged cardamom fields of some villagers, it is learnt.
Cardamom fields in the Chobum area belonging to Kolukchung Lepcha and Bahadur Lepcha have been damaged by the fire. Partial damage is also reported from the cardamom fields of Dichen Lepcha, Lha Tshering Lepcha and Sonam Gyatso Lepcha.
The villagers are worried that the fire could pose a threat to their village if it is allowed to continue unabated.  It is not possible to douse the fire as there are no water sources in the affected forest area and it is not possible to carry water from this village which is almost 6 kms away, informed ex-panchayat of Leek village, Nimtso Lepcha while speaking to NOW!.
From Passingdang village, it takes a two-hour trek to reach Leek, which comprises of around 20 houses under Safo-Passingdang GPU in Upper Dzongu.

IAF jet crashes in Dzongu

Singhik in the foreground and smoke from the Jaguar jet crash site across the Teesta in the Leek forest range in the background. The pilot was the sole occupant of the single-seater fighter jet and ejected from the ill-fated jet in time. He has reportedly sustained grievous injuries, but has been rescued from the area and was being rushed to medical assistance at the time of going to print. [foto courtesy: DEEPAK SHARMA]

PILOT EJECTS IN TIME, RESCUED BUT IN SERIOUS CONDITION
GANGTOK, 30 Nov: With rumours of UFO sightings in North Sikkim getting uncannily frequent, reports of parachute floating in the high skies may not have convinced many; however, in a first of its kind incident in Sikkim, an Indian Air Force jet crashed into the forests of Dzongu this afternoon creating quite a spectacle and a small fire as well.
At around 1:15 PM the Jaguar jet, as later confirmed by Army officials, crashed into the Leek forest range off Singhik across the Teesta in Dzongu.
As per villager accounts, they heard a loud crash and even saw the pilot coming down in the chute. The pilot, Lieutenant Yogendra Kumar, sensing something wrong with the jet and that it was going down, ejected just in time. The aircraft was identified by army officials as a single-seater Jaguar. There were apprehensions earlier that there could have been more pilots in the jet.
The villagers were the first to reach the spot even though the 27 Mountain Division based in North Sikkim, along with the police and the district administration put together a relief and rescue mission to rescue the pilot and salvage the aircraft remains. The terrain created some problems as there is no direct route to the Leek forest range.
Meanwhile, two hours after the crash, at around 3 PM, the pilot was located though in a serious condition.
An Air Force base is located at Bagdogra and the IAF dispatched two helicopters to the rescue mission. The jet is believed to have been on an exercise maneuver here and had taken off from Bagdogra.
There were efforts to land a chopper at the playground of Leek school but this proved impossible and till late evening the rescue personnel were attempting to get the pilot across by road to some medical assistance. Rescue personnel from Chungthang, Rangrang and Mangan are informed to have reached the spot for assistance along with district officials.
Air Force officials at the Bagdogra base were in no position to provide any information at all about the crash and share it with the press.

Rescuing a downed fighter pilot

LEEK VILLAGERS RUSH TO RESCUE, ASSIST EVACUATION

WANGCHUK BHUTIA
MANGAN, 30 Nov: The day began sunny and bright in Dzongu today, but the afternoon brought the shock and confusion of an Indian Air Force jet crashing into the sheer cliffs above Leek village in Upper Dzongu. The crash was seen and the explosion heard by the villagers of Passingdang and Leek at around 1:15 p.m. today. No one was sure of what had happened, but before the confusion set in, they noticed a parachute unfurl and the pilot sail down. The pilot was however heading into difficult terrain of thick trees and deep ditches. Leek village rushed to the rescue.
The smoke plumes were visible from across the Teesta at Mangan and Singhik, but what people there did not see was the immediate rescue and evacuation mission mounted by the youth of Leek in Upper Dzongu.
Eleven local youth led by ex-panchayat Nimtso Lepcha, all of whom were familiar with the forest above, marched off to find the pilot and any other people in need of assistance. The crashed jet is an IAJ Jaguar, a single-seater, and Flight Lieutenant Yogendra Kumar of 16 Squadron was the only occupant.  The youth from Leek did not know this at the time and were worried that there might be more casualties.
The Flight Lieutenant had managed to eject in time, and as per eye witnesses, the jet crashed into the cliff face, appeared to bounce and then crash into the ridge behind. The pilot meanwhile, having to eject as close to land as he did, had only limited chances to manoeuvre to safety and crashed into a tree and then fell into a ditch. He made it out of the mishap alive, but could move no further having suffered fractures on both legs, nursing a fractured arm and bleeding from the head.
The dozen rescuers from Leek were however on their way and managed to keep their bearings despite the thickets they were breaking through and reached the Flight Lieutenant within an hour since the crash. They then carried him down to their village.
The return journey was much slower since they were carrying a severely injured person and the team reached Leek village at around 5:30 p.m. with the light already failing. An NDRF team had meanwhile reached the village and the pilot was administered first aid by the team headed by Deputy Commandant DS Kanchan and including SDM Mangan PW Lepcha, a Land Revenue & Disaster Management team headed by Training Officer Kessang Nima, police personnel from Sangakalang Chek-post and local youth.
With the heli-rescue option not available, it had to be another strenuous march down to the road-head at Passingdang, a two hour march away. It was already dark and although understandably fatigued, the Leek youth insisted on helping the pilot down as well. Now equipped with a better stretcher and the relief and elation of having saved a life, the team carried the pilot down upto Passingdang CWC Bridge where an ambulance was waiting. They reached Passingdang CWC Bridge at 8:30 p.m. The motorcade reached the district hospital at Mangan at 9:40 in the night.
The pilot was conscious throughout, and although obviously in pain, agreed to answer some questions. Speaking to NOW!, he informed that he was on a recce and had taken off from Bhuj in Gujarat. He said he was not sure of what caused the mishap.