<p> All 12 defence personnel, including a lieutenant colonel, onboard an MI-17 Indian Air Force helicopter were killed on Friday after it crashed in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, close to the border with China.<br /><br />The helicopter, en route to Guwahati from Tawang, went down at 12:05 pm near Bomdir in Tawang, just minutes after it took off. Three crew members, eight IAF men and the lieutenant colonel were killed in the tragic crash.<br /><br />This is the ninth air crash recorded by the IAF this year.<br />The IAF immediately ordered a court of inquiry into the causes for the accident. Though initial reports had suggested that there was an explosion on the helicopter before it crashed, defence sources denied it.<br /><br />Defence Minister A K Antony expressed profound grief at the loss of lives of defence personnel in the crash. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, too, condoled the deaths.<br /><br />“The reason for the crash will be ascertained only after the enquiry is completed,” Defence PRO based in Tezpur (Assam) Col Rajesh Kalia said.<br /><br />All the bodies have been recovered, but the IAF withheld their identity.<br />IAF sources said the weather was clear and so it was unlikely that the chopper could have encountered any obstruction in visibility.<br /><br />Of the nine IAF air crashes recorded this year, this is the third helicopter accident.<br />The first IAF helicopter crash occurred on September 11 when the IAF lost a Cheetah in Jharkhand. The second was reported earlier this month in which another Cheetah helicopter crash-landed in the Siachen Glacier on November 8.<br /><br />The IAF had also lost four MiG-27 fighter jets and two MiG-21 variants this year. <br /></p>
<p> All 12 defence personnel, including a lieutenant colonel, onboard an MI-17 Indian Air Force helicopter were killed on Friday after it crashed in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, close to the border with China.<br /><br />The helicopter, en route to Guwahati from Tawang, went down at 12:05 pm near Bomdir in Tawang, just minutes after it took off. Three crew members, eight IAF men and the lieutenant colonel were killed in the tragic crash.<br /><br />This is the ninth air crash recorded by the IAF this year.<br />The IAF immediately ordered a court of inquiry into the causes for the accident. Though initial reports had suggested that there was an explosion on the helicopter before it crashed, defence sources denied it.<br /><br />Defence Minister A K Antony expressed profound grief at the loss of lives of defence personnel in the crash. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, too, condoled the deaths.<br /><br />“The reason for the crash will be ascertained only after the enquiry is completed,” Defence PRO based in Tezpur (Assam) Col Rajesh Kalia said.<br /><br />All the bodies have been recovered, but the IAF withheld their identity.<br />IAF sources said the weather was clear and so it was unlikely that the chopper could have encountered any obstruction in visibility.<br /><br />Of the nine IAF air crashes recorded this year, this is the third helicopter accident.<br />The first IAF helicopter crash occurred on September 11 when the IAF lost a Cheetah in Jharkhand. The second was reported earlier this month in which another Cheetah helicopter crash-landed in the Siachen Glacier on November 8.<br /><br />The IAF had also lost four MiG-27 fighter jets and two MiG-21 variants this year. <br /></p>
