GUWAHATI:The wreckage of a Pawan Hans helicopter, which had gone missing in Arunachal Pradesh on August 4, was spotted on Monday but the fate of its three occupants, including Tirap Deputy Commissioner Kamlesh Joshi was not known.
“The (rotor) blades and some other outer parts of the helicopter were spotted today (Monday) morning during an aerial reconnaissance by Army officials,” Assam Rifles’ sources told Express.
They also informed that the search teams of the Assam Rifles and the CRPF had already reached the spot
but since it was a densely forested area, they were finding it difficult to carryout a search for the ill-fated chopper’s occupants. Changlang Deputy Commissioner Chanchal Yadav also confirmed that only “some wreckage” was spotted.
Official sources said the wreckage was found between Pongkong and Longliang villages in Tirap district.
The aerial distance between the crash site and Khonsa is around 12km. It takes about 10 hours to reach there from the nearest road point on foot.
Apart from Joshi, the two other occupants were pilot M S Brar and co-pilot Rajiv Hoskte.
The Dauphin VT PHK helicopter was en route to the IAF airbase at Chabua in Assam’s Dibrugarh district from Khonsa in Tirap district when it disappeared from the radar screens.