Arunachal: Army Lt. Col. Dead in Helicopter Crash in Tawang

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh is considered to have some of the most difficult terrain of the country. The mountains and the rapidly changing weather conditions cause huge number of air mishaps and casualties. And the latest one to be lost is a young Leuitanent Colonel of Indian Army.

As per reports, Lt. Col. Saurabh Yadav, along with another pilot were out for a routine sortie at 10 AM today morning when this accident took place. Both of them were immediately evacuated from the damaged Cheetah helicopter and taken to a medical facility. Lt. Col. Saurabh Yadav succumbed to his injuries in the facility, while the other pilot is still under supervision. Also, the reasons of the crash of this craft have not been known as of now.

The road conditions in the region often become very risky, especially during the monsoon season. Severe and unpredictable landslides are also very common. The drastic and sudden change in weather conditions along with the unpredictable mountain conditions, is the key reason of accidents. The same conditions had also caused the death of the former Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu in April 2011..He was the father of the current Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu. Five days after the helicopter that he was using went missing, Arunachal Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was found dead in Luguthang, near the China border Mr Khandu left Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on the morning of April 30, 2011, 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 international border between India and China at Arunachal Pradesh makes it a very strategically important one.This is the reason why the state and the nearby areas have a very high army presence. Also, more defence official and political leaders prefer to use the air route to save time as well as for comfortable travel.

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