Srinagar, May 04: One Army technician was killed and two pilots injured after a Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) on an operational mission made a hard landing on Thursday morning on the banks of Marua river in Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir.
The incident took place around 11: 15 am after advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv was on operational mission to Marwah and crashed after a technical fault, injuring the two pilots and a technician on board
Following the crash, locals rushed to the spot and were trying to evacuate the injured and later police, officials from administration and Army joined the rescue operation.
The injured were evacuated to the command hospital in Udhampur, where the technician – Craftsman Pabballa Anil – succumbed to his injuries. While two others including Pilot are stable.
In a tweet, Indian Army said General Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and and All Ranks of Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of CFN (Avn Tech) Pabballa Anil, in the line of duty during Operational flying of ALH MK III near Kishtwar, Jammu Kashmir and offer condolences to the bereaved family.
General Officer Commanding-in-chief of the Northern Command Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi paid tributes to Avn Tech) Pabballa Anil for his supeme sacrifice.
In a tweet, Army’s Northern Command said, “Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Army Cdr NC & All Ranks Northern Command offer tribute to supreme sacrifice of CFN (Avn Tech) Pabballa Anil, in the line of duty during operational flying of ALH MK III near Kishtwar . He offered deepest condolences to the bereaved family.
Thirty year old Pabballa Anil belonged to Malkapur village of Boinpalle Tehsil in RajannaSirchilla district of Telangana in South India.
A Defence Spokesman at Udhampur Army Headquarters said that around 11: 15 AM on Thursday, an Army Aviation ALH Dhruv helicopter on an operational mission made a precautionary landing on the banks of Marua river in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir.
“As per inputs, the pilots had reported a technical fault to the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and proceeded for a precautionary landing. Due to the undulating ground, undergrowth and unprepared landing area, the helicopter apparently made a hard landing,” he said.
The spokesman said immediate rescue operations were launched and Army rescue teams reached the site. Two pilots and a technician were onboard. All three injured personnel have been evacuated to Command Hospital,Udhampur. Later, Aviation technician succumbed to his injuries.
Some videos showing Kashmiri-speaking locals comforting the injured while they awaited evacuation to hospital drew praises on social media.
Meanwhile, a Court of Inquiry has been ordered. Further details are being ascertained. The area where the incident took place has no telecommunication network and has dense forests.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, Khalil Ahmad Poswal said that wreckage of the helicopter was found on the banks of the river. After getting calls from locals, police teams rushed to the spot and started a rescue operation, he said.
A senior Army Officer at Udhampur told Rising Kashmir that both pilot and co-pilot are stable and out of danger. “They had burn injuries and we hope both will be relieved from hospital soon,” he said.
He also said that in Kishtwar and other hilly districts of J&K, helicopters play a crucial role in providing supplies and ration transportation. Due to the harsh weather conditions and terrain, helicopters are the only mode of transport that can reliably reach us during this time.
‘They are also used to transport people who need medical attention or who are otherwise unable to travel on foot. This makes them a critical lifeline for the people, ” the Army officer said.
This comes a month after two pilots were killed after a military aviation Cheetah helicopter that was flying an operational sortie crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. The chopper had lost contact with the Air Traffic Control before the mishap.
