All five bodies of the army personnel killed in the helicopter crash in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh has been recovered and the rescue operation concluded. "Search and rescue mission concludes with the recovery of the fifth and last body, said the Defence PRO, Tezpur on Saturday, reported news agency ANI.
The advanced light helicopter (ALH), carrying five Army personnel including two pilots, was on a regular sortie and had taken off from Likabali in the Lower Siang district, when it crashed at 10.43 am on Friday.
The bodies of four Army personnel were recovered on Friday evening from the crash site, while search was on to locate the mortal remains of the fifth personnel that concluded today, the news agency reported.
The exact cause of the crash is still not known and details are being ascertained.
Meanwhile, a court of inquiry has been constituted to probe the crash which will focus on the 'May Day' call received by Air Traffic.
The Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a 'may day' call right before the crash, suggesting a technical or mechanical failure, the Army said in a press release, as reported by ANI.
"This will form the focus of the Court of Inquiry, which has been immediately constituted to investigate the causes of the accident," the statement further read.
The PRO in a statement also said that the pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on the Advance Light Helicopter (Weapon Systems Integrated) and over 1800 service flying hours between them, reported the news agency.
Earlier on October 5 this year, an Indian Army pilot lost his life in a Cheetah helicopter crash near Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh.