Pawan Hans chopper​ untraced for fifth day

Itanagar: Mystery continued to shroud the fate of the missing Pawan Hans chopper in Arunachal Pradesh with three people on board as search parties failed to trace it for the fifth day on Saturday.

Five choppers including M-17, A1-30 and a Chetak of the Army and Indian Air Force conducted 11 sorties during the day, while Army, IRB, state police and locals conducted ground search in Tirap district to trace the chopper but in vain, state civil aviation secretary BM Mishra said.

"We are trying to utilise all available resources to locate the chopper as per available leads from the locals who claimed to have sighted the chopper on the day it went missing. Despite our all-out efforts we have not succeeded till now," Mishra added.

The search operation is concentrated in the thick jungles between Sanliam and Dadam villages in Tirap district.

Some search teams are camping in the jungles between these two villages, District Information and Public Relation Officier (DIPRO) Dehang Bosai informed from Khonsa.

A Sukhoi conducted a numbers of recce in the past two days but failed to scan the probable area which is covered with dense forest.

The Dauphin chopper of state-run Pawan Hans went missing with Tirap Deputy Commissioner Kamlesh Kumar Joshi and two pilots Captain MS Brar and Captain Rajeev Hoskote, after it had taken off from Khonsa in Tirap district at around 10.45 am on Tuesday.

Joshi's relatives, including his wife have arrived at Khonsa.

Director General of Civil Aviation has ordered a preliminary inquiry into the incident, while Pawan Hans authorities deputed teams from New Delhi and Guwahati and ordered an internal inquiry.

The district administration has also announced incentives for villagers engaged in the search.