17 killed in helicopter crash in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh

Samudra Gupta Kashyap
Posted: Tue Apr 19 2011, 15:11 hrs
Itanagar:
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Seventeen people were killed, including two children, in a helicopter crash in Tawang in western Arunachal Pradesh today.

The helicopter, that belonged to PawanHans, was a regular passenger sortie from Guwahati to Tawang. The incident occurred around 1:30 pm in the afternoon.

Of the 23 people flying -- 18 passengers and 5 crew members -- six have been rescued and are being treated for severe injuries at the Tawang Hospital.

Tawang Deputy Commissioner Gamli Padu confirmed the deaths, among which were also three crew members.

Sources in Itanagar said the helicopter was about to land at the Tawang civil helipad, when it suddenly flared up and crashed to the ground.

It was only yesterday that several VVIPs including Union Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Minister of State Agatha Sangma flew in to Tawang to attend a review meeting of NREGA in the Northeast.
Tawang, located at an elevation of over 11,000 feet in the Eastern Himalayas, is the headquarters of the district by the same name apart from a Brigade HQ of the Indian Army that monitors the crucial international boundary here.

In November last year, 12 Army personnel including an officer, were killed when an Mi-17 chopper of the IAF met with an accident immediately after taking off from the brigade helipad at Tawang.

(source:indianexpress.com)
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