Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu dead, crashed helicopter found
Itanagar: Five days after the helicopter that he was using went missing, Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu has been found dead in Luguthang, near the China border. A government official and a relative of Mr Khandu have identified his body.
The four other people on board with him - including two pilots and his security officer - have also died. The bodies were found at a height of 4900 metres. The Chief Minister's body will now be moved to Itanagar.
Those on board with Mr Khandu were: Captain J S Babbar, Captain T S Mamik, the Chief Minister's security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, the sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup. One of the bodies found has been identified as that of the sister of the Tawang MLA; others are charred beyond recognition.
The news came after a search party this morning spotted a wrecked helicopter and three bodies from a hill top near Jung Falls in the Tawang district.
"We have some information that is not encouraging...it is not good news," said Home Minister P Chidambaram, at 11.30 am. "The nearest Army post in Kyela...they have dispatched a team on foot," he added.
Mr Khandu left Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday morning on a Pawan Hans helicopter. He was headed to Itanagar. The helicopter lost contact twenty minutes after it took off as it approached Sela Pass 13,000 feet above sea level. The area is known to be a challenging one for pilots, and the bad weather may have added to the complexity of the navigation required
The four other people on board with him - including two pilots and his security officer - have also died. The bodies were found at a height of 4900 metres. The Chief Minister's body will now be moved to Itanagar.
Those on board with Mr Khandu were: Captain J S Babbar, Captain T S Mamik, the Chief Minister's security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, the sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup. One of the bodies found has been identified as that of the sister of the Tawang MLA; others are charred beyond recognition.
The news came after a search party this morning spotted a wrecked helicopter and three bodies from a hill top near Jung Falls in the Tawang district.
"We have some information that is not encouraging...it is not good news," said Home Minister P Chidambaram, at 11.30 am. "The nearest Army post in Kyela...they have dispatched a team on foot," he added.
Mr Khandu left Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday morning on a Pawan Hans helicopter. He was headed to Itanagar. The helicopter lost contact twenty minutes after it took off as it approached Sela Pass 13,000 feet above sea level. The area is known to be a challenging one for pilots, and the bad weather may have added to the complexity of the navigation required
Massive ground search operations were conducted over the last few days, with bad weather making it tough for Air Force searches to operate. Satellite images from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) were also studied by experts involved in the search and rescue operations.
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