IAF Chopper crashes Over Siachen glacier in Kashmir
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Srinagar, April 11, IRNA
Chopper-Crash
A military helicopter belonging to Indian Air Force, with two pilots on board, crashed today in Siachen Glacier and both the occupants are feared dead.
The IAF and the Indian Army have launched an operation to locate the Cheetah helicopter and its two pilots, the official said.
The helicopter, used to drop supplies to soldiers along the glacier that rises to heights of over 20,000 feet and is disputed by India and Pakistan, was said to have taken off from the base camp at around 6.30 a.m. It lost contact with the air traffic control half hour later.
The crash comes two days after the new IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Fali Major, said the force had recorded its lowest rate of 0.36 percent accidents in its 75-year history.
The Cheetah and Chetak helicopters that operate in the Siachen area were inducted into IAF some 30 years ago.
A total of 65 military aircraft have crashed in the past four years, claiming 58 lives, parliament was informed last month.
Siachen glacier is the world's highest battlefield with Indian and Pakistani soldiers standing eyeball to eyeball for nearly last 25 years.
At 6,300 meters (20,700feet) India these snowy heights at an estimated cost of up to $1 million a day. More soldiers on both sides die of natural causes here than those in actual combat.
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