1 dead, 2 injured after Army helicopter crashes in J&K’s Kishtwar

The injured pilots have been admitted to the Army’s Command Hospital in Udhampur.

Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi offered tribute to the deceased and condolences to the bereaved family. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

Udhampur-based Northern Command said in a statement that at around 11.15 am on Thursday, “an Army Aviation ALH Dhruv helicopter on an operational mission made a precautionary landing on the banks of Marua river in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir.”

“As per inputs, the pilots had reported a technical fault to the air traffic controller and proceeded for a precautionary landing. Due to the undulating ground, undergrowth and unprepared landing area, the helicopter apparently made a hard landing,” the statement read.

The statement added that immediate rescue operations were launched and that the three people on board – the technician and and the pilots – were taken to Command Hospital, Udhampur.

Craftsman Pabballa Anil later succumbed to his injuries. The 30-year-old was a native of Malkapur village in Telangana’s Rajanna Sircilla district.

In March this year, two pilots were killed after an Army aviation Cheetah helicopter crashed while flying an operational sortie near Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh.

In March 2022, the government told Parliament that 42 Indian armed forces personnel were killed in the last five years in 45 aircraft and helicopter crashes.

A day after the crash, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Army Commander Northern Command paid homage to CFN (Avn Tech) Pabballa Anil, who died in the chopper crash.

“We salute the Braveheart & stand by his family in this moment of grief,” said Northern Command in a statement here.

CFN (Avn Tech) Pabballa Anil was on board an ALH Dhruv helicopter which had crashed in Kishtwar’s Marwah area of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday morning. Two pilots had got injured in the crash.