IAF chopper crash: Three bodies recovered from site

The helicopter had taken off Tuesday from Pilputu helipad near Sagalee in Papum Pare district, around 30 km from the Arunachal Pradesh capital.

Itanagar, Jul 6: The bodies of two IAF officers and an IRB jawan were recovered from the spot where an IAF chopper crashed two days ago during flood rescue sorties, police said on Thursday.

Search is on for the fourth air force officer who was on board the chopper. The police had initially said there were three people on board the helicopter -- Wing Commander M S Dhillon, the pilot, Flight Lieutenant P K Singh and Flight Engineer Sergeant Gujjar.

It was later confirmed that an Indian Reserve Battalion jawan was also with them to help evacuate people stranded in Sagalee and Dambuk following massive landslides caused by heavy rain.

The IRB jawan was identified as Nada Umbing from Hija village of Lower Subansiri district, DGP Sandeep Goel said. The search team comprised personnel from the state police, the National Disaster Response Force, the Army and the IAF. They were assisted by a medical team, the DGP said.

The helicopter had taken off Tuesday from Pilputu helipad near Sagalee in Papum Pare district, around 30 km from the Arunachal Pradesh capital. It lost contact with the ground staff within minutes of take-off at 3:48 pm.

PTI