Indian Army's ALH helicopter CRASHES in Arunachal Pradesh, 4 confirmed dead

Army chopper crashes in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh: The crash involved the India-made Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) made by HAL for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force.

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An Indian Army ALH helicopter has crashed in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, 25 kilometres from the Tuting headquarters. According to the Defence PRO in Guwahati, an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) crashed this morning at 10:40 am in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. After hours of Search and Rescue Operation, the team has recovered the mortal remains of four individuals out of the five till now. A total of 5 Personnel were on board the ill-fated chopper, said PRO (Defence) Tezpur. A joint Search & Rescue Op of Army & IAF was launched immediately, which included 1 MI17, 2 ALH & 3 columns of Army.

"An army aviation ALH WSI helicopter which took off from Lekabali crashed today at 10:43 am around Migging (South of Tutting) in Arunachal Pradesh" said PRO (Defence) Tezpur. Jummar Basar, the Upper Siang Police Superintendent, told ANI over the phone, "The site of the accident is not connected through the road. A rescue team has been rushed and all other details are awaited."

Addressing the unfortunate incident, Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju said in a tweet,"Received very disturbing news about Indian Army`s Advanced Light Helicopter crash in Upper Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh. My deepest prayers."

Received very disturbing news about Indian Army’s Advanced Light Helicopter crash in Upper Siang District in Arunachal Pradesh. My deepest prayers  pic.twitter.com/MNdxtI7ZRq — Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 21, 2022

The Advanced Light Helicopters are indigenously built and are used by the Indian Air Force and Indian Army for high-altitude operations and providing air support. The ALH is made by HAL and is available ALH Dhruv and ALH Rudra configurations, the latter being made as an attack chopper. 

Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh | A military chopper crashed near singging village, 25 kms away from the Tuting headquarters in the Upper Siang district today. Site of accident not connected by road, rescue team sent. Further details awaited: Defence PRO, Guwahati pic.twitter.com/G2y7aEjQmT — ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2022

Earlier on October 5 this year, an Indian Army pilot lost his life in a Cheetah helicopter crash near Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh. After the incident on October 5, 2022, one of the pilots succumbed to his injuries while the other one underwent the necessary treatment. 

The deceased pilot was identified as Lieutenant Colonel Saurabh Yadav. It is to be noted that Arunachal Pradesh has a history of chopper crashes, most of which is because of bad weather. One of the chopper crash in the North East state even claimed the life of former chief minister Dorjee Khandu.

With inputs from ANI