Thursday’s tragic incident took place near Mandala Hills in Bomdila, which is a part of the West Kameng of Arunachal Pradesh Image Courtesy Reuters

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh): An Indian Army helicopter has reportedly crashed in the Bomdila area of Arunachal Pradesh.

According to reports, Thursday’s tragic incident took place near Mandala Hills in Bomdila, which is a part of the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Army was reportedly on a routine mission when it lost contact with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at around 9.15 am on Thursday.

Indian Army officials told the media that the Cheetah helicopter crashed near Mandala Hills in Bomdila in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Indian Army and local authorities have launched a search and rescue operation.

“Search parties have been launched. The chopper was reported to have lost contact with the ATC at around 9:15 am on Thursday,” Defence PRO Lieutanant Colonel Mahendra Rawat informed the media.

Both the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are looking to replace the ageing Chetak and Cheetah helicopters which play a crucial role in maintaining operational preparedness of the Indian military along the Himalayan borders with China and Pakistan.

At present, Around 200 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters are in service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The Indian government is looking at replacements for the Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which include the LCH Prachand developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Apache helicopter of the US.

Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande had said last month that the Indian Army is mulling over the induction of around 95 Prachand Light Combat Helicopters and 110 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) in order to improve its combat aviation ability.

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