A 58-year-old man died on Friday afternoon in flood-hit Parshurampur village of Saran district, Bihar, during an Indian Air Force helicopter relief airdrop. Villagers and his family say a dry-ration packet struck him. Police have recorded conflicting accounts, found no visible external injury marks, and are awaiting the post-mortem report before fixing the cause of death.
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. The Times of India has described him as a 62-year-old local hawker. The incident occurred around 3.30 pm on 2 October 2026, near a relief camp where residents displaced by the Gandak floods had gathered for dry ration.
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. A case has been registered and an investigation is under way.
Amnour Station House Officer Vimlesh Kumar said the body showed no external injury marks on the head or elsewhere. Residents have given two versions: some allege that material dropped from the helicopter fell on Singh; others say the packets landed nearby and that he may have suffered a heart attack. The post-mortem is expected to clarify the cause.
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 claim 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 circulated, showing villagers moving under the low-flying helicopter.
Saran District Magistrate Vaibhava Srivastava confirmed the identity of the deceased and said initial monetary assistance had been given to the family for last rites and related formalities. He added that the circumstances of the death were being verified.
In a separate incident during the same sortie, a woman and two children were injured by the helicopter’s downdraft. The woman has been identified as Vimla Devi, also referred to as Rambha Devi, about 45, wife of Badri Sah. She and the children were on a rooftop when the aircraft flew low. Police said a tin shed or structural material blown by the rotor wash struck her on the leg. She and the children were treated; one account says she sustained 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 was stable after treatment.
The airdrop was part of a wider flood response 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, with further teams expected. Ground distribution of food packets continues alongside the air operation.
Until the autopsy report is received, the administration has treated the death as under verification and has not confirmed that the packet caused it.
