An Army Cheetah helicopter carrying BSF personnel crashed in north Kashmir
An army pilot was killed and his co-pilot was critically injured after their Cheetah helicopter crashed near the Line of Control or LoC in north Kashmir's Gurez sector today.
The helicopter was on its way to pick up a paramilitary soldier and evacuate him to hospital for treatment when it crashed in Tulial area of Gurez sector.
"The helicopter lost communication contact with the forward post at Gujran, Baraub. A search operation on foot was immediately launched by the Indian Army alongside search and rescue helicopters which were pressed into service. The wreckage of the crashed helicopter was found in a snowbound Gujran Nallah area of North Kashmir's Bandipora," read a statement from Defence PRO of Srinagar.
Major Sankalp Yadav, one of the pilots, succumbed to his injuries at 92 Base Hospital. He Was 29.
Major Yadav was commissioned in 2015 and was a resident of Rajasthan's Jaipur. He is survived by his father.
The other pilot is critical, however stable and is presently in ICU.
The cause of the crash was not known immediately, officials said, adding that the area where the accident took place is completely snowed out.