It flew back around 20 Indian citizens to Kathmandu. Some of the trekkers were accompanied by their wives and children. It was for the first time that the IAF was landing in the Everest region.
Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Sunday said that the death toll in Saturday's earthquake could touch 10,000 as information from remote villages is yet to be received.
He told agencies that rescue and relief operations have not been up to the mark.
Meanwhile, the fate of hundreds of people, who are stuck at the Everest base camp, looks uncertain, with heavy showers on Tuesday hampering rescue work.
Amidst bad light due to clouds and fog, the first rescue choppers of the Indian Air Force (IAF) landed around noon at the Lukla helipad, reducing the rescue window to six hours of flying in tough conditions.
It flew back around 20 Indian citizens to Kathmandu. Some of the trekkers were accompanied by their wives and children. It was for the first time that the IAF was landing in the Everest region.
Flying to Lukla, the gateway to the region, in heavy cloud cover is next to impossible, given the treacherous nature of the airstrip that makes it the world's most dangerous airstrip. The short airstrip requires a clear view during approach and take-off as there are high risks of crashing into mountains, barely few metres away.
The route for Everest comprises Base Camp (5,400 m), Icefall (5,500 m), Camp 1, also called Valley of Silence (6,100-6,400m), Camp 2 (6,400m), Camp 3, also known as Lhotse wall (6,400-8,000m) and Camp 4 or Death Zone (8,000 m).
The IAF also recovered the body of Google executive Daniel Fredinburg, who was the privacy chief at Google X, the company's innovation laboratory. Fredinburg was climbing Everest as part of a company team trying to create a Google street map of the trek to the Everest base camp.
Known as Dann to climbers, he was accompanied by three company employees, who are safe. Among others rescued included a British National, and Praveen from Bengaluru. All of them were rescued from Camp 1.
While a few people were rescued, many are still reeling under the trauma of being in the middle of death and destruction on the trail to the base camp. Steve Wilson, 28, a Canadian national from Vancouver, spent the night sleeping on the ground floor of his lodge.
Fear is still writ large on his face. "My lodge was shaking violently. It was moving left and right. I went outside and rocks were falling onto the ground. I have never been through such a disaster in my life. I just want to get out of here," says Wilson.
Wilson's excruciating wait was exacerbated by inclement weather. Heavy cloud cover gave way to downpours, putting an end to the possibility of flights landing at the Lukla airport.
Haleigh Facteau (23), an American citizen, is wondering what the usually-proactive American embassy in Kathmandu is doing to rescue her and other Americans stranded in Lukla.
"They should have been here by now. My parents have sent a request to the Senator in Florida. But I haven't heard anything yet about any rescue mission that might be on its way."
Haleigh walked for two days from Dengboche from the Everest base, after the earthquake. She walked back to Namche Bazaar further down the trail before finding a group of people who could accompany her safety to Lukla. After two days, she reached Lukla -- only to find that the American embassy was still clueless about their situation. "I just hope they rescue her soon. I just want to get back home to my parents in Florida."
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