Wing Commander Darryl Castelino of Kinnigoli origin loses life in Uttarakhand chopper crash

Wing Commander Darryl Castelino of Kinnigoli origin loses life in Uttarakhand chopper crash

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 26, 2013: Darryl Castelino  having his roots in Kinnigoli near Mangalore and  was serving as Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force,  was one among the 20 who lost their lives when the IAF helicopter which was on a rescue mission at the flood ravaged Uttarakhand crashed  on June 25, Tuesday afternoon.

Army sources said  Darryl Castelino was the Wing Commander of the chopper. His family from Kinnigoli had moved base to Mumbai several years ago.

 

Born on November 2, 1975, Darryl   completed his high school education from the Holy Cross High School in Kurla, Mumbai. A courageous lad right since his childhood days, Darryl had joined the Indian Air Force and was last posted in Kolkata.
Darryl has left behind his wife Jyothi and two children Ethan and Angelina.

Darryl Castelino spent the night before the helicopter crash at an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) camp.   He told people there that he was happy about wearing his dark green jumpsuit for a big operation to "bring in more and more live people."  He charmingly returned compliments on the great work his crew was doing.

The next evening, the helicopter that Castelino was commanding crashed in treacherous terrain while returning from Kedarnath.

The Indian Air Force has confirmed that among the dead are its five personnel on board - Darryl Castelino, Flight Lieutenant K Praveen, Flight Lieutenant Tapan Kapoor, JWO AK Singh and Sergeant Sudhakar Yadav, all from the 157 Helicopter Base in Barrackpore, West Bengal.