Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, August 4

Around 30 hours after various agencies launched a massive search operation to trace the two pilots commandeering an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv till it developed a snag, Army officials fear that the duo may not have survived the crash.

The chopper was on a routine low-flying sortie over the Ranjit Sagar Dam lake when it lost control and crashed into the waters. The missing pilots were identified as Capt Jayant Joshi and Lt Col SS Bhatt.

The Army took over the search operations today morning. A chopper carrying a dozen Navy divers had landed near the lake late yesterday evening, while yet another one carrying an identical number of divers arrived at midnight.

Trying our best

Navy divers have demarcated the area where the chopper may have fallen. We fear the worst as already 30 hours have passed. The survival chances are indeed low. However, we have not lost hope and are trying our best. — A police officer

Though there is no official word on the pilots, a senior officer said “they were fighting a losing battle and chances of the pilots surviving were abysmally low”.

SSP Surendra Lamba and a team of senior administration and civil officers camped at the site throughout the day. A posse of the J&K Police also remained stationed at the site today. The search is being conducted over the entire area of the lake, which is 86 sq km.

Local divers who had been pressed into service yesterday could not go below a depth of 50 metre. Keeping this in mind, the Army requisitioned the services of divers from the Navy.

The Navy divers, sources say, have demarcated the area where the chopper may have fallen. “They are focusing on that area. We fear the worst as already 30 hours have elapsed ever since the helicopter crashed. Hence the survival chances are indeed low. However, we have not lost hope and are trying our best,” said a police officer.