A 58-year-old flood-displaced man died in Bihar’s Saran district on Friday after he was allegedly struck by relief material dropped from an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter, while a woman and two children were injured in a separate incident during the same aerial relief operation, officials said.
Ground efforts continue in parallel: multiple NDRF and SDRF teams are operating in the district, and tens of thousands of additional ration packets and polythene sheets are being moved in from neighbouring districts. More than 3,000 packets had already been air-dropped by the time of the incident, with further drops planned.
The villagers have given conflicting versions of the incident to the police, a police officer, requesting anonymity, said. “Some insisted the packets hit Singh directly; others suggested he may have suffered a heart attack as material landed nearby,” the officer said.
Villagers, forced onto embankments by the rising waters of the Gandak river, had gathered near a relief camp to receive dry ration packets. One packet reportedly hit his head, followed by another landing on his chest. He collapsed and was declared dead at the scene.
The packets reportedly weighed around 5 kg each.
District magistrate of Saran Vaibhava Srivastava said the deceased was identified as Anil Kumar Singh alias Appu Singh, a resident of Parshurampur village. “Initial monetary help to the victim’s family has been given for last rite and other formalities,” the DM said, adding that the circumstances under which the victim died are being verified. Family members said Singh had finished lunch and was outside when the helicopter made a low-altitude drop.
Meanwhile, the woman was identified as Vimla Devi or Rambha Devi, aged around 45, and was hit when the helicopter’s downdraft reportedly blew debris or structural elements towards her, inmates of the relief camp said. Officials reported roughly 170 villages across 33 panchayats in six blocks affected, impacting an estimated 3.32 lakh people and more than 75,000 families. A case has been registered and an investigation is under way. She sustained a fracture, while the children received minor injuries. They were standing on the roof when the chopper flew at a lower altitude. They were treated at a local health centre. The tragedy unfolded against a severe flood emergency. Embankment breaches along the Gandak have inundated large parts of Saran.
The body was sent to Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examination, which authorities said would determine the precise cause of death.
