Five dead as IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashes in Arunachal Pradesh

NEW DELHI: An IAF Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed Friday morning near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh killing five people and critically injuring one.

Unconfirmed reports said there were six people on board the Mi-17 V5 helicopter, which is a military transport chopper.

The helicopter reportedly crashed around 6 am Friday while it was on an air maintenance mission. A court of inquiry has been ordered.

The chopper was flying in Tawang sector, bordering China.

In June 2013, an Mi-17 V-5 helicopter had crashed attempting rescue operations during the Uttarakhand floods. As many as 20 people were killed in that accident.

PTI reported in July that Russia last year handed over to India the final batch of three Mi-17V5 military transport helicopters under a previously signed contract with Rosoboronexport, a company of the Rostec State Corporation, that entailed a total of 151 units of the Mi-17V-5 helicopter, produced by the Kazan Helicopter Plant.

Designed to transport cargo inside the cabin and on an external sling, the Mi-17V5 is considered to be one of the world's most advanced military transport helicopters.
Mi-17V5, supplied to India, ranks among the most technically advanced helicopters of the Mi-8/17 type, incorporating the best engineering solutions of previous generations.