Nashik:
An Army helicopter crashed in a residential area of Nashik in Maharashtra on Wednesday morning. Two Army Majors on board were killed.
An official said there were no civilian casualties as the helicopter crashed into the roof of an empty house.
The Cheetah helicopter, on a routine sortie, had taken off from Gandhinagar for Army Aviation Training School in Nashik at around 0855 hours. But minutes later, it crashed and hit an empty house in Jachak Nagar area. The Cheetah helicopter is used by the Army for training.
"Nobody was present in the house at the time of the crash and the house also did not suffer any major damage," a police officer said.
The victims were identified as Major Atul Garje and Major Bhanu Das of Army aviation base in Jodhpur.
The bodies of the two officers were extricated from the mangled remains of the helicopter by fire brigade and Army personnel.
Nasik District Magistrate P Velasani said there was no civilian casualty and as per the preliminary investigation, the helicopter crashed due to possible technical failure.
"All we can say is that both the pilots on board are dead. The helicopter crashed in a civilian area and there is no civilian casualty. Investigations are on," he said. (With PTI Inputs)