An Indian Air Force's Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed in Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday morning.
According Hindustan Times report, all the seven people on board were killed in the crash. TV reports said that the area where the crash happened is a high-altitude area but the Indian Air Force carries out regular training exercises in the area.
“It is confirmed that a Mi-17 V5 chopper crashed early morning around 6 am in Arunachal Pradesh. All the seven people on board have been confirmed dead in the accident,” Hindustan Times quoted a senior IAF official as saying.
According to India Today, the chopper which crashed 12 kilometers from India-Tibet border, was carrying supplies for armed forces on the border. Sudden technical problem could have lead to the crash, added the report. Rescue teams reached the crash site in Tawang near the Indo-China border and admitted the injured personnel to a local hospital.
Around 6 AM today, a Mi-17 V5 helicopter while on a Air Maintenance mission crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. Court of Inquiry ordered: IAF — ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017
The chopper was on an "air maintenance mission", NDTV reported. A Court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain what caused the crash, IAF authorities told media channels.
The Mi 17 V5 is a Russian-made military transport helicopter and is often deployed in disaster relief operations, according to India Today.
In February last year, Russia had handed over to India the final batch of three Mi-17V-5 military transport helicopters under a previously signed contract.
In July this year, an Indian Air Force chopper had gone missing in Arunachal Pradesh after it took off from Pilputu Helipad near Sagalee for the Naharlagun heliport.
A search and rescue team of the Arunachal Police had found the wreckage of the missing IAF helicopter later and two mutilated bodies near it. The IAF however had said it was not certain if the debris was of its missing Advanced Light Helicopter.
With inputs from agencies
Published Date: Oct 06, 2017 11:06 am | Updated Date: Oct 06, 2017 11:55 am
