Army chopper crashes in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar, three injured

The pilot and co-pilot were rescued in an injured condition

An Army helicopter with three people onboard crashed in a forested area in the hilly Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, officials said.

A defence spokesperson said at about 1115 hours on May 4, 2023, 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 spokesperson said immediate rescue operations were launched and Army rescue teams reached the site.

“Two pilots and a technician were on board. All three injured personnel have been evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur,” he said and added a Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident while further details are being ascertained.

Senior Superintendent Police (SSP), Kishtwar, Khalil Poswal said rescue teams were rushed to the crash site. “Being remote and hilly area, there is no mobile phone connectivity,” he said.

The region has been witnessing rains, snowfall and cloudy weather for the past two to three days.

Last year in March, a Cheetah helicopter of the Army had crashed near Line of Control (LoC) in Tulail sector of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, killing the co-pilot and critically injuring the pilot.

In September 2021, two pilots were killed in a similar accident after an Army helicopter landed on the hills of Shiv Dhara near Patnitop in Udhampur district of Jammu.

In March this year, two pilots were killed after an Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter crashed near the Mandala hills area in Arunachal Pradesh.