Guwahati: Two young pilots of the Indian Air Army died when their Cheetah helicopter crashed near the Mandala hills, west of Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, Defence Publi Relations Officer (PRO) Mahendra Rawat said.
The pilots, Lieutenant Colonel V.V.B. Reddy Major Jayanth A, suffered fatal injuries in the crash. The mortal remains have been retrieved and will be brought to Dirang, around 30 km from Mandala, for further proceedings.
The aircraft took off from the Missamari air base in Assam’s Sonitpur district around 9:15 am Thursday on a routine sortie. It lost touch with the ATC while returning from Senge village in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The wreckage was found in the forested hills of Mandala near Bangjalep village, around 40 km northwest of Bomdilla, Superintendent of Police B. Bharat Reddy told ThePrint.
“Around 12 noon, the villagers of Bangjalep informed us of a helicopter falling down,” the police said.
Teams from the Army, police, the SDRF and SSB launched a joint search operation and were able to retrieve the bodies before sunset. A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.
In October last year, another Cheetah helicopter had crashed at Lungla area near Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
Also read: Army’s Cheetah helicopter crashes in Arunachal Pradesh, 2 pilots missing