Still no trace of missing pilots in Kathua chopper crash - Hindustan Times
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Still no trace of missing pilots in Kathua chopper crash

Aug 05, 2021 02:24 AM IST

MARCOS commandos of Indian Navy were called in on Wednesday to intensify the searches in the deep waters of the Ranjit Sagar dam, around 30 kms from Pathankot. MARCOS is a special-forces unit of the Indian Navy, usually called in for conducting special operations.

The fate of two Indian Army pilots — a lieutenant colonel and a captain — remained unclear on Wednesday, a day after their Rudra helicopter crashed into Ranjit Sagar Dam lake in Kathua district.

Army personnel inspect the site after a helicopter of the Indian Army crashed near Ranjit Sagar Dam Lake in Kathua district. (PTI)
Army personnel inspect the site after a helicopter of the Indian Army crashed near Ranjit Sagar Dam Lake in Kathua district. (PTI)

MARCOS commandos of Indian Navy were called in on Wednesday to intensify the searches in the deep waters of the Ranjit Sagar dam, around 30 kms from Pathankot.

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MARCOS is a special-forces unit of the Indian Navy, usually called in for conducting special operations.

“Searches are on but there is no clue so far. Neither the wreckage nor the missing pilots have been traced as yet. The search operations were resumed on Wednesday morning. Marcos divers of the Indian Navy were called in from Delhi,” said Kathua district police chief SSP Ramesh Kotwal.

The crash occurred on Tuesday morning around 10.30. Rescue operations were suspended at night.

On Tuesday, the search parties had found some chopper skids, fuel tanks, stabiliser, helmets and the identity card of one of the two pilots.

The Rudra helicopter, built at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), was carrying out a training sortie that involved low-level flying over the lake, said a second official.

The helicopter belonged to the army’s Pathankot-based 254 ALH-WSI squadron, which earlier lost a Rudra chopper in January 2021.

The depth of the crash site has been measured to be over 200-ft.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    A principal correspondent, Ravi Krishnan Khajuria is the bureau chief at Jammu. He covers politics, defence, crime, health and civic issues for Jammu city.

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