My condolences...
Missing IAF chopper located
Damien Lepcha
Itanagar, July 5: The wreckage of the Indian Air Force helicopter, which had gone missing yesterday, was sighted in a deep gorge near Shopo Yuha, about 30km from here and 4km from Hostalam village in Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh.
There was, however, no confirmation from the air force of the wreckage being located.
"Something has been found but we are not able to confirm anything as ground forces are yet to reach the spot," said Lt Col Sambit Ghosh, defence PRO based in the army's 4 Corps headquarters at Tezpur in Sonitpur district of central Assam. "I, too, have seen the photographs doing the rounds but there is no confirmation from our side," he added.
The advanced light helicopter, with three crew members and one India Reserve Battalion (IRBn) jawan on board, had gone missing near Sagalee in Papum Pare district after it took off from Pilputu helipad around 3.38pm yesterday.
According to reports, the bodies of two crew members have been recovered from the crash site. The third crew member and the IRBn person are reportedly untraced.
The chopper was deployed to airlift passengers stranded between Sagalee and Itanagar because of a road blockade caused by landslides and floods. It had flown to Naharlagun, 10km from Itanagar, from its base in Assam yesterday morning and had completed several sorties, lifting passengers from Sagalee to Naharlagun helipad, which is a 10-minute ride.
After the helicopter was reported missing and residents of Shopo Yuha reported the crash of a chopper in the area, rescue teams of the army, Indo Tibetan Border Police and state police were engaged to locate it. One team was led by Papum Pare superintendent of police Tumme Amo and the other by deputy superintendent of police Neelam Nega.
The search team led by Amo comprised 63 personnel from the Police Training Centre (PTC), 17 personnel from ITBP and a medical team. It started its search operation from Hostallam village. The second team, led by Nega, comprised 61 PTC personnel and 10 local youths. They started their search from the Nyorch area.
The debris was spotted by one of the five police teams detailed under Nega, says PTI.
An official source said the rescue teams trekked through dense forests and hills between Yupia and Hoj Telam, despite inclement weather, before tracing the helicopter.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170706/jsp/frontpage/story_160336.jsp