GUWAHATI: Two pilots on board Indian Army’s Cheetah helicopter were killed after their copter crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday. The helicopter was on an operational sortie from Missamari in Assam’s Sonitpur district to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
However, it encountered inclement weather in West Kameng district and was returning to Missamari when the mishap occurred.
The deceased have been identified as Lt Colonel V V B Reddy and co-pilot Major Jayanth A.
Guwahati-based defence spokesman Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said that five search parties of the Indian Army, SSB and ITBP were immediately pressed into service and the wreckage of the aircraft was found near Banglajaap village, east of Mandala in West Kameng district.
A Court of Inquiry has also been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
West Kameng Superintendent of Police B Bharat Reddy said they got information about the crash at around 12.30 pm. Arunachal has a history of aircraft crashes. Thursday’s crash is the 16th such incident since 1995. Over 100 lives have been lost in the incidents.