New Delhi: An Army chopper crashed near Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district on Thursday. Two pilots were hurt in the incident but are safe, Army officials said. However, a technician injured in the crash succumbed to his injuries, reported news agency PTI.
According to officials, an Army ALH Dhruv Helicopter crashed in the Marwah area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar today.
"Two pilots and a technician were on board. All three injured personnel have been evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur," the Army said in a statement.
The Army said that immediate rescue operations were launched and rescue teams reached the site.
"The pilots had reported a technical fault to the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and proceeded for a precautionary landing. Due to the undulating ground, undergrowth and unprepared landing area, the helicopter apparently made a hard landing," it stated.
Earlier this March, an ALH Dhruv Mark 3 helicopter of the Indian Coast Guard crashed in Kerala's Kochi while the pilots of the force were testing the chopper. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) informed that the three persons onboard, including the pilot, were safe and the aircraft sustained damage.
In a statement, the ICG informed, "CG 855, an ALH Mk III based at Kochi, got airborne from Cochin International Airport at about 1225 hours for inflight checks after fitment of control rods on aircraft. Prior to the inflight checks, the HAL and ICG Team had carried out extensive and satisfactory ground trials on 26 Mar 2023."
In a similar incident, on March 16, two pilots were killed after an Indian Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter crashed near the Mandala hills area in Arunachal Pradesh.
A search operation was carried out by the Indian Army, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and police after the crash. According to officials, Army's Cheetah helicopter was on an operational sortie when it lost contact with the Air Traffic Controller.
"With regret we inform that the pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter lost thier lives in the accident. An investigation is being ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," the Army said in a statement.
Lt Col VVB Reddy and Major Jayanth A were the two pilots martyred in the chopper crash.
Lt Col Mahendra Rawat, PRO Defence Guwahati said, "An Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter flying an operational sortie near Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh was reported to have lost contact with the ATC at around 9:15 am today. It is reported to have crashed near Mandala, West of Bomdila."