Bihar Man Dies During IAF Flood Relief Airdrop in Saran; Cause Awaited After Post-Mortem

A 58-year-old man died in flood-hit Parshurampur village in Bihar’s Saran district on Friday afternoon during an Indian Air Force helicopter relief airdrop, after villagers and his family alleged that a dry-ration packet hit him. Police, however, said the cause of death is still unconfirmed, noting that there were no visible external injury marks and that the final explanation will depend on the post-mortem report.

The deceased has been identified as Anil Kumar Singh, also known as Appu Singh, a resident of Parshurampur under Amnour police station. Most official and agency reports place his age at 58, though The Times of India described him as a 62-year-old local hawker. The incident took place around 3.30 pm on 2 October 2026, near a relief camp where residents displaced by the Gandak floods had gathered for ration supplies.

Marhaura Sub-divisional Police Officer Savindra Kumar Das said that, prima facie, a relief packet dropped from a helicopter appeared to have struck Singh on the head. “The exact cause of the death could be ascertained only after receiving the autopsy report,” he said. The body has been sent to Sadar Hospital, Chhapra, for post-mortem, and a case has been registered while the investigation continues.

Amnour Station House Officer Vimlesh Kumar said the body did not show any external injury marks on the head or elsewhere. According to him, villagers have offered two different versions of events: one saying that material dropped from the helicopter fell on Singh, and another suggesting that the packets landed nearby and that he may have suffered a heart attack. Police said the post-mortem will be key to establishing the cause of death.

Family members told reporters that Singh had finished lunch and was outside his house when the helicopter made a low pass and began dropping packets, each said to weigh about 5 kg. They said one packet struck his head and another landed on his chest, after which he collapsed and was declared dead at the spot. His son has repeated that account. A video recorded before the drop has since circulated, showing villagers moving beneath the low-flying helicopter.

Saran District Magistrate Vaibhava Srivastava confirmed the identity of the deceased and said the family had been given initial monetary assistance for last rites and related formalities. He added that officials were still verifying the circumstances surrounding the death.

In a separate incident during the same sortie, a woman and two children were injured by the helicopter’s downdraft. The woman was identified as Vimla Devi, also referred to as Rambha Devi, about 45, wife of Badri Sah. Police said she and the children were on a rooftop when the aircraft flew low, and that a tin shed or other structural material blown by the rotor wash struck her on the leg. She and the children were treated. One account said she suffered a fracture and that all three were taken to Chhapra Sadar Hospital, while the station house officer described the injury as minor and said she remained stable after treatment.

The airdrop was part of a larger flood relief operation ordered by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary after the Saran administration sought additional ration for areas cut off by road. The Disaster Management Department, working with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, said Indian Air Force helicopters had completed 15 sorties and air-dropped more than 28 tonnes of food, comprising over 5,600 dry-ration packets, in inaccessible parts of the district. Aircraft were staged from the Gorakhpur side. Officers named in the operation include Group Captain Anuj Gupta and Wing Commander Vishal Khatri from Gorakhpur, and Squadron Leader Rohit Dadarwal, Flight Lieutenant Kunal Kalamkar and Flight Lieutenant Rathore Bharat Singh from Bagdogra.

Flooding from the Gandak has affected about 170 villages in 33 panchayats across six blocks of Saran, covering an estimated 3.32 lakh people and 75,286 families. About 43,400 people have been moved to safer ground. Fourteen relief centres are sheltering around 40,000 people, and 46 community kitchens have served meals to 50,550.

Some 2,540 boats are in use, and 48 NDRF and SDRF teams are engaged in rescue and relief operations, with more teams expected to join. Ground distribution of food packets is continuing alongside the air operation.

Until the autopsy report is received, the administration is treating the death as under verification and has not confirmed that the packet caused it.