The lights of the C130J Super Hercules transport aircraft twinkled in the pitch-dark blackness of the night. Without navigational approach aids or guiding lights, the pilots were almost blindsided as the aircraft approached the narrow, damaged airstrip at Wadi Seidna in Sudan.

The weather had deteriorated too – the aircraft hit turbulence as it encountered severe icing. The risks were high. The wreckage of an aircraft lay off the airstrip. Had it been shot at? Had it encountered a technical failure? No one knew.

Yet, for the pilots and Garud Commandos on board the C130J, the call of duty – to rescue a group of stranded Indians – far outweighed any sense of risk.

Hours after the grey turboprop craft touched down on the bumpy airstrip, the Indian Air Force had pulled off one of the most daring operations it has ever conducted – rescuing 121 Indians stuck in and around the Sudanese capital of Khartoum as part of Operation Kaveri in April this year.

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