Helicopter crash kills 17 in Arunachal Pradesh

Bellevision Media Network

Itanagar, 19 April 2011: In one of the worst helicopter crashes in Arunachal Pradesh, 17 persons including three crew members were killed and six others injured when it caught fire and plunged into a gorge in Tawang district on Tuesday.

 

The Pawan Hans Mi17 chopper was flying to Tawang from the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati and had taken off at 12:45 hours, agency sources said.

 

Pilots Captain Varun Gupta and Captain A. K. Tiwari were scheduled to land at the Tawang Civil helipad at 13:20 hours. It caught fire, broke into pieces and crashed into a gorge close to the helipad at around 13:57 hours, the sources said.

 

 

While 17 persons on board were killed, two crew members and four passengers survived with grievous injuries, Tawang Deputy Commissioner Gamlin Padu said. The injured were rushed to the civil hospital at Tawang and would be air-lifted to Guwahati tomorrow, the DC said.

 

This is the second helicopter crash in the district bordering China. Earlier on November 19 last year, an Indian Air Force MI 17 chopper crashed minutes after take off killing all 12 on board.

- Agencies