ISLAMABAD, Nov 15: A US military ‘Rapid Refuelling Point’, opened at the Muzaffarabad airport on Tuesday allowing helicopters to refuel quicker and provide aid to earthquake victims in further north. The refuelling point, part of the US military’s forward re-supply base in Muzaffarabad, saves each aircraft 75-minute operating time due to its location and capability to refuel copters while they are still running, a press release issued by the US Disaster Assistance Centre here said.

The ability to refuel a helicopter while running is called ‘hot refuelling’ and is made possible by three 20,000 gallon fuel bladders that are capable of fuelling two aircraft simultaneously.

The ability to refuel further north allows US and other nations’ helicopters involved in relief efforts more flight time to deliver aid to the affected.

US military helicopters began flying relief aid on Oct 11 in support of the Pakistan government operations. They have flown more than 1,600 sorties, delivered nearly 7.5 million pounds of relief aid and evacuated more than 3,500 casualties.