A long sigh, banishing despair, escapes the man once inside the helicopter. Two or three minutes earlier, using a steel cable moved by a special reel. He had been hoisted into the hovering aircraft.
His name is Raciel Rodríguez Pérez. He appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of a vast flooded area. While the crew searches for ten other people who have taken refuge on the second floor of the medical clinic in the town of Altagracia, in the municipality of Cacocum.
Although he is a local, his emotional state (he spent almost three days without food, sheltering on the highest points he could find). Makes him unsuitable as a guide to locate the group in distress. Furthermore, with the area flooded, it is difficult from the air to find landmarks to locate the clinic. Surrounded by muddy waters almost two meters deep.
The search continues. The aircraft commander, Colonel Alfredo Áreas Martínez, heads towards the town of Maceo. This decision was made in consultation with First Colonel Luis de la Cruz, head of the Holguin Military Region, and Diosmanis Cruz Morales, appointed by the Provincial Defense Council to coordinate the rescue.
After a quick and safe flight, the helicopter touches down. Raciel Rodríguez gets out, and his face shows the man whose spirits have returned to his body. A sight appreciated by the family members waiting for him.
Once again, the engines roar as they take off. Now part of the rescue team is Raciel Castillo Verdecia, delegate of the People’s Power in the Altagracia area. Who helps locate the clinic and the desperate men who had taken refuge there a short time later.
Once over the building, the pilot hovers the aircraft. Just as in the first rescue, rescuer Yordanis Ávila Calzada descends, attached to the steel cable. Once on the concrete slab, Julio Cesar Fonseca is quickly fitted with the harness and cable. With him aboard, the helicopter begins a circular flight. Landing again above the clinic, to pick up another refugee.
This maneuver, the colonel will explain later, is to avoid prolonging the helicopter’s hovering time. Otherwise, the engines would suffer more. The procedure is repeated until all the distressed compatriots have been brought aboard. Julio Cesar’s face reflects happiness. Now his son, Ever, accompanies him. Both say they were certain they wouldn’t be abandoned to their fate.
Once again, the aircraft heads for the town of Maceo. The flight is short. It lands, and the rescued men rush to meet their families. Gerardo Ramón Ávila is surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren. The affection he receives will help him heal the emotional wound caused by the fear of being swallowed by the waters that surrounded him.
Colonel Alfredo Áreas, who has nearly three thousand flight hours, is also on the wet grass of the baseball field. Observing the reactions of the newcomers and the people welcoming them. A journalist asks him about his feelings. “Joy, just like them!” he replies.
Standing in front of the aircraft’s nose, the co-pilot, Major Reinier Vega Pulido, nods in agreement. Rescuers Yordanis Ávila and Miguel Potrillé are brimming with satisfaction. If someone were to ask them all to list the rescue missions they’ve participated in, they’d have to do some mental math before answering.
The colonel’s order is laconic: “All aboard!” With each subordinate in their position, the engines start. The helicopter gains altitude and makes a turn. It sets course for the province of Granma. There, the situation is complex, and it must join the other helicopters of the same type that are carrying out rescue after rescue due to the flooding of the Cauto River.
With information from Germán Veloz Placencia/Granma.cu
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