Sajid Raina
Bandipora, Mar 11: A co-pilot was killed while the pilot was critically injured after an army Cheetah helicopter in north Kashmir’s Gurez Sector on Friday.
A senior defence official said that the incident took place near Gujran-Nallah when the helicopter was about to land at a forward post near the LoC to lift an ailing BSF personnel from Tulail Valley.
He said that soon after the incident, a search operation was immediately launched by the army alongside search and rescue helicopters which were pressed into service.
He said that during rescue operation both pilot and co-pilot were rescued and evacuated to Srinagar 92 base hospital for treatment where the co-pilot identified Maj Sankalp Yadav, succumbed to his injuries while as the pilot was further evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur where his condition is said to be stable.
As per officials the helicopter lost communication contact with the forward post at Gujran, Baraub. “A search operation on foot was immediately launched by the Indian Army alongside search and rescue helicopters which were pressed into service. The wreckage of the crashed helicopter was found in a snow bound Gujran Nallah area of North Kashmir’s Bandipora. Pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter were grievously injured in the crash and were immediately evacuated to Base Hospital, Srinagar,” the official said, adding that “Maj Sankalp Yadav, the co-pilot succumbed to his injuries at 92 Base Hospital. The injured pilot was further evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur. He is critical, but stable. Events leading to the crash of the helicopter are being ascertained.”
The official said that brave heart, Maj Sankalp Yadav, 29-years-old, was commissioned in army in 2015 and was a resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan. He is survived by his father, the officials added.
