Man dies after relief packet dropped from helicopter falls on his head in Bihar’s Saran

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A 58-year-old man died on the spot after relief material dropped from helicopter fell on him in flood-affected Saran district in Bihar, police said on Saturday (October 3, 2026). They said the incident occurred on Friday near a relief camp in Parshurampur village within Amnour Police Station limits.

The police identified the man as Anil Kumar Singh. His son Avinash Pratap Singh said, “The helicopter was dropping the relief materials in bulk, and one of the packets hit my father’s head, and another hit his chest, and he died on the spot.”

Amnour Station House Officer (SHO) Vimlesh Kumar confirmed the death; however, the cause of death could be ascertained only after the postmortem report is out.

In a separate incident, a woman and her two children standing on the roof of their house were injured when a helicopter dropping relief packets came close to the building. In the force generated by the helicopter, a tin shed was blown away, hitting the woman on her leg, causing injury.

Due to incessant rain in the catchment areas in Nepal, water level has risen in the Gandak River, causing severe flooding in six districts of Bihar, including Saran. Hundreds of blocks are cut off from main roads, and villages are surrounded by floodwaters, leaving roads submerged. The State government has taken help from Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters for dropping dry rations and food packets.

According to the Disaster Management Department (DMD), the floods have affected 3.2 lakh people in 170 villages across 33 panchayats in seven blocks in Saran district. The five other districts affected include West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Darbhanga, and Muzaffarpur.

To ensure the availability of relief supplies in flood-affected and inaccessible areas of Saran district, the DMD, acting on the instructions of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, has coordinated with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Defence to carry out operations for airdropping relief material.

According to government officials, the initiative aims to deliver essential food supplies to people in flood-hit areas where waterlogging and flooding have made delivery by road difficult.

“So far, over 28 tonnes of food supplies—comprising more than 5,600 dry ration packets—have been airdropped across 15 sorties by Indian Air Force helicopters in the flood-affected regions of Saran district. This airdropping method ensures that essential food reaches affected families, providing timely relief even when normal transportation routes are disrupted by the floods,” said an official.

The official further said that pilots and personnel from various units of the IAF are engaged in this special relief operation. The airdropping is being conducted under the leadership of Group Captain Anuj Gupta and Wing Commander Vishal Khatri (Gorakhpur), Squadron Leader Rohit Dadarwal and Flight Lieutenant Kunal Kalamkar (Bagdogra), and Flight Lieutenant Rathore Bharat Singh (Bagdogra).

Former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed concern over the flooding of the Gandak River and instructed the DMD Ratnesh Sada to provide all possible assistance to affected people in the flood-hit districts.

Mr. Kumar said that the floods in the Gandak River—triggered by the heavy rain in Nepal—and the subsequent breach of banks had severely affected approximately 250 villages and over three lakh people across six districts, including Saran.

He asserted that one must never forget that disaster victims held the first claim on state treasury.

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