Indian Army`s chopper crashes in north Kashmir`s Gurez; co-pilot killed, pilot critical

Indian Army`s Cheetah helicopter which was on its way to pick up sick BSF personnel crashed near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir`s Gurez Sector on Friday, resulting in the death of its co-pilot and serious injuries to the pilot.

SRINAGAR: Indian Army’s Cheetah helicopter crashed in the Baraub area of Gurez in Bandipora district this afternoon. It was on a routine mission to evacuate an ailing soldier from a forward post. The helicopter lost communication and all contacts with the forward post at Gujran, Baraub, PRO (Defence) Srinagar said. 

He added, "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." 

The pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter were grievously injured in the crash and were immediately evacuated to 92 Base Army Hospital Srinagar, the PRO (Defence) Srinagar said. Major Sankalp Yadav, 29 years old, the co-pilot succumbed to his injuries at 92 Base Hospital. 

The injured pilot is critical and is presently in 92 base Army Hospital in Srinagar. Events leading to the crash of the helicopter are being ascertained, the official said.

Giving details of the martyr, PRO (Defence) Srinagar said, "Maj Sankalp Yadav was commissioned in 2015 and was a resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan. He is survived by his father.’’

It may be mentioned here that Gurez Bandipore road is still closed because of heavy snow accumulation. Hence, chopper service is the only medium to reach Gurez and its far-flung areas. That’s why the Army chopper was sent to Gurez to evacuate the ailing soldier from the area. The two teams of the army are still at the spot to collect the debris.