IAF chopper crashes close to China border

Five IAF and two military personnel killed

Mystery shrouds the crash of a Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday morning, which resulted in the death of five IAF and two military personnel.

The crash was close to the China border and the Russian-manufactured helicopter was carrying supplies to a forward post of the Indian Army in the mountainous region.

The crash took place in relatively good weather conditions; the weather packs up in the region in the afternoon by which time the IAF sorties are generally over.

Even otherwise, it was a robust aircraft and equipped to withstand the adverse weather conditions. Incidentally, the best of the pilots are asked to fly choppers in the inhospitable region.

Also, the chopper was relatively knew and was added to the IAF fleet in 2015.

A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident but it may be days or even weeks before the wreckage can be examined by experts and a conclusion can be drawn about the cause of the crash.

Earlier in the day, an IAF official had said five personnel were killed and one person was critically injured; later that person too succumbed to his injuries.

The crash comes two days ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, celebrated in a big way by the force. "Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets," Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa had said on Thursday, referring to a string of crashes of IAF choppers and military jets in recent years.

The Mi-17 V5 is a multitask medium-lift military transport chopper.