Indian Army's Cheetah helicopter crashes near Mandala hills in Arunachal Pradesh, two pilots killed
"The helicopter lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) around 9.15 am. Five search parties of the Indian Army, SSB and ITBP were immediately launched. The wreckage of the aircraft was found near Banglajaap east village of Mandala," Rawat said.
Two pilots on board a Cheetah helicopter of the Army were killed when it crashed near Mandala in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday morning, a defence spokesperson said.
The deceased officers have been identified as Lt Colonel VVB Reddy and his co-pilot Major Jayanth A, he said.
Defence spokesperson Lt Colonel Mahendra Rawat said in Guwahati that the helicopter was on an operational sortie from Missamari in Assam's Sonitpur district to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
The flight encountered "inconducive weather" and was returning to Missamari when it crashed, he said.
"The helicopter lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) around 9.15 am. Five search parties of the Indian Army, SSB and ITBP were immediately launched. The wreckage of the aircraft was found near Banglajaap east village of Mandala," Rawat said.
"A Court of Inquiry is ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," he added.
Rohit Rajbir Singh, the superintendent of police, Special Investigation Cell (SIC), said villagers had found the crashed chopper ablaze in Dirang, and informed district officials.
"Villagers from Bangjalep at Dirang located the chopper around 12.30 pm," Singh said.
The area has no mobile connectivity and the weather is extremely foggy with visibility as low as five meters, he said.
Click Here For Latest Updates On Stock Market | Zee Business Live
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
EPFO Pension Schemes: Early pension, retirement pension, nominee pension and 4 other pension schemes that every private sector employee should know
Tata Motors, Muthoot Finance and 3 more: Axis Direct recommends buying these stocks for 2 weeks; check targets, stop losses
Senior Citizen Latest FD Rates: Know what major banks like SBI, PNB, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank are providing on fixed deposits
07:31 PM IST