Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashes in Bhutan, both pilots killed

An Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashed in Bhutan on Friday afternoon. Both pilots were killed in the crash, news agency IANS reported quoting sources.

Two pilots were killed when an Indian Army cheetah helicopter crashed in Bhutan due to foggy weather on Friday afternoon.

The Indian Military Training Team (IMTART) chopper crashed near eastern Bhutan’s Younphula Domestic Airport. IMTRAT is the training mission of the Indian Army in Bhutan.

“An Indian Army helicopter crashed at 1 pm near Yongphulla in Bhutan. The helicopter lost radio and visual contact soon after 1 pm. It was enroute from Khirmu (Arunanchal Pradesh) to Yongfulla on duty,” Indian Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said.

The deceased pilots include a captain from the Royal Bhutan Army and a Lieutenant Colonel of the Army Aviation Corps, an Indian Army source said.

The wreckage was located after a ground search and a rescue operation was launched immediately from Yonphulla.

Search and rescue operations were also launched by the Indian Air Force and Army helicopters to locate the rest of the wreckage.