Indian Army grounds ALH Dhruv chopper fleet after J&K crash

The Army has grounded the entire fleet of Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv following the crash of one of the choppers in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, military sources said.

An ALH Dhruv with three people on board crashed following a "hard landing" in Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.

A technician was killed and two pilots were injured in the incident. As a precautionary measure, the ALH Dhruv fleet has been temporarily grounded, the sources said.

The Navy and the Coast Guard had grounded their respective ALH Dhruv fleets in March following two similar incidents involving the platform.

The sources said the ALH Dhruv choppers with the Navy and the Coast Guard are undergoing technical checks. The helicopters which have been cleared in the scrutiny process are flying now, said a source. The Indian Air Force operates around 70 ALH Dhruv.