A 58-year-old flood-displaced man died in Bihar’s Saran district during an aerial relief operation on Friday after he was allegedly struck by relief material dropped from an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter. A woman and two children were also injured in a separate incident during the same operation.
The incidents took place in Parshurampur village, where thousands of people displaced by the Gandak river floods have taken shelter on embankments and other higher ground.
The deceased was identified as Anil Kumar Singh, alias Appu Singh, a resident of Parshurampur. Saran district magistrate Vaibhava Srivastava said initial monetary assistance had been provided to Singh’s family for last rites and other formalities.
The district administration is verifying the circumstances surrounding his death, while police have registered a case and begun an investigation.
Conflicting accounts over man's death
According to Singh’s family, he had finished lunch and was outside when the helicopter flew over the area to drop dry ration packets. One packet, reportedly weighing around 5kg, allegedly struck him on the head, while another landed on his chest. He collapsed and was declared dead at the spot.
Villagers who were gathered near a relief camp to collect ration packets gave differing accounts to police. While some maintained that the packets directly hit Singh, others suggested that he could have suffered a heart attack when relief material landed nearby.
Amnour station house officer Vimlesh Kumar said there were no visible external injury marks on Singh’s body.
His body was sent to Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Authorities said the autopsy would establish the precise cause of death.
Reports from the area said the incident also triggered anger among villagers, with some residents placing the body on the road and briefly blocking traffic before police and administrative officials intervened.
Woman and two children injured
A second incident occurred during the same aerial relief operation when a woman and two children were injured.
The woman was identified as Vimla Devi or Rambha Devi, aged around 45. According to people at the relief camp, she was standing on the roof with the children when the helicopter flew at a low altitude.
The helicopter’s downdraft reportedly blew debris or parts of a structure towards them. The woman suffered a fracture, while the two children sustained minor injuries.
They were taken to a local health centre for treatment.
Gandak flooding displaces thousands
The accidents occurred as Saran continued to deal with a severe flood emergency caused by the Gandak river.
Breaches in embankments have inundated large areas of the district, with officials reporting that around 170 villages spread across 33 panchayats in six blocks have been affected. An estimated 3.32 lakh people and more than 75,000 families are affected.
Thousands of residents have been forced to leave their homes and seek shelter on embankments and other elevated areas as floodwaters spread.
With many communities facing difficulties in receiving supplies by road, the administration intensified aerial distribution of dry ration packets.
IAF steps up aerial relief
The district administration sought additional supplies as the flood situation worsened, following which the Chief Minister’s Office directed the use of IAF helicopters for relief operations.
The aircraft involved in the operation included helicopters staged from the Gorakhpur side.
More than 3,000 packets had already been air-dropped by the time of the incident, with further sorties planned to reach people stranded by the flooding.
Ground-based relief operations are continuing alongside the aerial effort. Several National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams are operating in the district, while tens of thousands of additional ration packets and polythene sheets are being transported from neighbouring districts.
The administration is continuing to assess the circumstances of Singh’s death, with the post-mortem examination expected to establish whether his death resulted from injuries caused by the falling relief material or another medical cause.