Army helicopter crashes in Arunachal; 2 bodies recovered from site
Bodies of two army personnel among the five on board the crashed Indian Army's Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) have been recovered. The helicopter met with an accident on Friday morning in Arunachal Pradesh. The crash was followed by an immediate rescue operation by aerial means as the site of the accident has no road connectivity. This is the second crash in the state in October.
'Helicopter was on regular sortie'
Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) also known as Rudra Mark IV as per Army sources took off in the morning from Likabali in Arunachal Pradesh as part of a regular sortie. The crash took place at 10.43 am near Migging village in Arunachal Pradesh's upper Siang district. Visuals of the ALH from the spot show part of the wreckage in flames.
'Locals helped the rescue teams'
Following the reports of the crash as per the Army, three aerial teams were set out for the rescue operation as the accident site has no motorable roads. A joint rescue operation of the army and the Indian Air Force was launched along with one Mi-17 and two Dhruv. Reports said that the local residents also joined the joint rescue operation.
Disturbing news, tweets Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju
Received very disturbing news about Indian Army’s Advanced Light Helicopter crash in Upper Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh. My deepest prayers 🙏 pic.twitter.com/MNdxtI7ZRq
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 21, 2022
What is significance of ALH?
ALH is an indigenously developed helicopter by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The potent attack helicopter was inducted into service in to fill a niche in Indian Air Force and Army. Amid a border dispute in eastern Ladakh with China Weapon Integrated System (WIS) is being installed in ALH adding more features to its tactical missions.
Pilot died in crash on October 5
On October 5, an army pilot lost his life while on board a Cheetah helicopter with his co-Pilot during a crash in the state. The incident took place in the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh when the aircraft was on a regular sortie. The co-pilot of the aircraft was injured in the crash while the pilot succumbed during treatment at a hospital.
'Over 3 dozen lives claimed since 2017'
As per data by the Press Trust of India, between March 2017 and December 2021, 31 died in military aircraft crashes. The crashes include 15 military helicopters including four ALHs. In a major aircraft crash in the Conoor area of Tamil Nadu, 14 people were killed on December 8 last year, including India's Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and his wife.
