Arunachal: 2 Army officers killed in Bomdila chopper crash; court of inquiry ordered
The deceased have been identified as Lt Col. VVVB Reddy and Major Jayanth A.
BOMDILA- Two Indian Army officers, a pilot and a co-pilot, were killed after an army helicopter crashed in Arunachal Pradesh’s Bomdila on Thursday, army officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Lt Col. VVVB Reddy and Major Jayanth A.
“With regret, we inform that the pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter, lost their lives in the accident,” said Lt Col Mahendra Rawat, public relations officer, defence, Guwahati.
Lt Rawat said that soon after knowing of the incident, the army launched five search parties comprising the Indian Army, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo-Tibetian Border Police (ITBP). The wreckage of the aircraft was found near Banglajaap village, east of Mandala, he added.
#LtGenRPKalita #ArmyCdrEC & All Ranks offer tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Lt Col VVB Reddy & Maj Jayanth A, in the line of duty at Mandala, #ArunachalPradesh while carrying out operational flying of Cheetah Helicopter. #IndianArmy stands firm with the bereaved families, tweeted Eastern Command.
#LtGenRPKalita #ArmyCdrEC & All Ranks offer tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Lt Col VVB Reddy & Maj Jayanth A, in the line of duty at Mandala, #ArunachalPradesh while carrying out operational flying of Cheetah Helicopter. #IndianArmy stands firm with the bereaved families pic.twitter.com/XimeZQ0pan
— EasternCommand_IA (@easterncomd) March 16, 2023
Meanwhile, according to army officials, a court of inquiry has been ordered to probe the incident.
According to an army release, an Indian Army Cheetah helicopter, flying an operational sortie near Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, was reported to have lost contact with air traffic control (ATC) on Thursday morning around 9.15am.
In October last year, an Indian army helicopter crashed in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh killing all five personnel on board.
According to the army, the helicopter HAL Rudra, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), was on a regular sortie after taking off from Likabali in the Lower Siang district when it crashed in a remote area with thick tree cover.
