Chennai Man gets Bravery Award from Australian government

Chennai is famous for bravery in many angles and here is a sample of someone from Chennai an NRI getting a bravery award from Australian Government...

A stores supervisor from Chennai is among five Indians who have received bravery awards from the Australian government for their heroic rescue of around 25 injured soldiers from a blast site following a terror attack at Al Kasik in Iraq on August 4, 2008.

For Nagaraj Muthu Kamatchi, 32, presently employed in Nigeria, living on the edge in dangerous places is a way of life.

Along with seven other Indians, all employed in the catering division of the UN army, Mr Nagaraj has worked in cities like Baghdad, Tikrit, Al Kasik and even Karbala.

Sandeep Sherigar from Maharashtra, also a recipient of the Australian bravery award and a colleague of Mr Nagaraj, said that the two, along with Deepak Arondekar from Goa, had gone to the dining hall to have their lunch when a huge blast rocked their building.

“It was around 1.30 pm when we went to the dining hall where around 25 to 30 Australian soldiers were dining. The noise was deafening and there was blood all over the place,” Mr Sandeep said.

“Before we could panic, our head supervisor, Chris Hardley, rushed to help the victims and all four of us joined him,” Mr Sandeep added.

For the next few hours, the four men who had gone to provide civilian assistance were covered in the blood of the injured soldiers. “We did our best to carry whoever we could to a safer place,” said Mr Arondekar.

“I am glad that the Aust-ralian government has remembered us and honoured us with this recognition.”

Back home in Chennai, Mr Nagaraj’s proud mother Bhanumathy recalled her son’s passion for joining a catering course over electronics.

“He was passionate about the profession and that has helped him save many lives when he was working in Iraq,” she said.

Commending the bravery of Mr Nagaraj, the Australian government, in its citation said: “Despite the potential for further terrorist attack following the blasts, Mr Muthu Kamatchi, an untrained civilian, placed his own safety at risk by combing through the wreckage for his critically injured and dying friends and colleagues.

Individually, and with the support of other civilians, Mr Muthu Kamatchi helped move seriously wounded people onto functioning vehicles, and transported them to hospital.

Sourced from deccan chronicle.