A helicopter from the Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation successfully rescued an elderly couple on Thursday, who were marooned in their flooded house in the Mai Loong Khun community in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province.
The pilot of the KA-32 helicopter, Worapote Wannarot, said that his team decided to rescue couple because they were concerned that they would not be able to survive much longer, after being trapped under the roof of their single-storey house for three days without food or drinking water.
Strong currents had prevented rescue officials from reaching the couple by boat.
The pilot explained that the rescue mission was challenging, because the chopper had to hover at about 135 feet, as rescuers descended on ropes onto the roof of the house to pluck the two elderly people, one at a time, to safety.
He said that, normally, the chopper would conduct such a rescue operation from an altitude of 80-90 feet, not 135 feet.
The same helicopter crew also flew a pregnant woman from a flooded area in Mae Sai district to a waiting ambulance, so she could be rushed to the district hospital.
