Helicopter goes missing in Arunachal, pilot from Panchkula

The Dauphin N3 twin-engined chopper went missing while on a flight from Dibrugarh in Assam.

A Panchkula resident, Col (retd) M S Brar, is reported to be one of the pilots of the Pawan Hans helicopter which went missing in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

The Dauphin N3 twin-engined chopper went missing while on a flight from Dibrugarh in Assam. There are four occupants in the helicopter apart from the pilot and co-pilot.

Col Brar is a former Army Aviation Corps pilot. He was originally commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery before he sidestepped into Army aviation. He had a narrow escape in 2010 when the Pawan Hans helicopter on lease with the Punjab government met with an accident in Chandigarh.

Speaking to Chandigarh Newsline over the telephone, Col (retd) Madhu Valsraj, a close friend of Col Brar, said that he had spoken to him on Monday evening. He said very little information was coming forth regarding the search and rescue operations.

Army sources in Assam said that two Cheetah helicopters had been launched from Dinjan and one MI-17 helicopter from Mohanbari for search and rescue operation when the information about the missing helicopter was received. Rescue operations, in which Cheetah choppers and ALH Dhruv will be pressed into service, will now re-commence on Wednesday morning.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram