Guwahati:
A rescue operation to locate a helicopter that went missing in Arunachal Pradesh is being encumbered by rough weather and thick forest terrain.
According to the Press Trust of India, Chief Secretary Ramesh Negi said "a helicopter-like object" had been spotted in the dense forest region of Tirap in the southern part of the state and that army troops are finding it tough to navigate the area, in part because of thick fog. The agency also quotes a local official as saying a blast was heard by villages in the region.
The helicopter, owned and operated by state-run Pawan Hans, has three people on board - two pilots and District Commissioner Kamlesh Kumar Joshi.
Air Traffic Controllers lost contact with the helicopter at 11.15 am. It had taken off about 45 minutes before that for Assam.
Earlier, news agencies reported that an aerial search had been launched by the Indian Air Force.
In 2011, then Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others died after their Pawan Hans chopper crashed at a remote location in the state.
A few days after the incident, another helicopter crashed while landing in Tawang; 16 people were killed.
Following the crashes, commercial chopper services were stopped in the state till 2013, when Pawan Hans restarted its service in Arunachal Pradesh.