Ranjit Sagar Dam crash: Indian Navy recovers two missing pilots from helicopter crash

Two Indian pilots who went missing on August 3 after ir helicopter crashed into Ranjit Sagar Lake in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district have been safely recovered and are undergoing treatment. According to Indian Navy officials, search operation started early in morning, and later in day, y found missing pilots. 

Army Aviation ALH Dhruv helicopter met with an accident near Ranjit Sagar Dam on Tuesday. It flew off from Punjab's Pathankot on a routine sortie. Ranjit Sagar Dam lies on border between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. dam was constructed by Punjab government on Ravi River. 

While speaking to ANI, RC Kotwal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kathua, said, "An Indian Army helicopter crashed into Ranjit Sagar Dam, Kathua, today. Some of floating material from chopper was recovered. Specialized forces and divers are conducting rescue operations. Only after divers go into lake will we know what exactly happened, "said SSP.

ALH-DHRUV helicopter

ALH Dhruv helicopter is a uniquely designed Weapon System Integrated helicopter that runs on a dual engine and can easily carry out multi-role and multi-missions. weight of helicopter is less than 6 tons and comes in skeed and wheeled versions. ALH Dhruv is certified by central government for airworthiness and civil operations. helicopter comes in various variants, such as Mk-I, Mk-II, Mk-III & Mk-IVDhruv Mk-ll. So far, over 200 Dhruv helicopters of multiple versions are operating in different sections of Indian Defense Forces. me-in-India helicopter is supplied to many countries, including Nepal, Mauritius, and Maldives.

Similar incidents in past

This is not first time an army chopper has crashed. A similar incident occurred a few months ago, and an Army Aviation Helicopter crashed in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district. Earlier on January 26, while helicopter was returning from Pathankot, pilots were forced to make a crash-landing in an Army area in Lakhanpur. One out of two pilots succumbed to injuries in incident. helicopter was identified as an Army vanced Light Dhruv helicopter. And, on January 5, a MiG-21 chopper of Indian air force crashed at night near Suratgarh in Rajasthan after an operational error. pilot of aircraft remained safe.

Image Credits: ANI, Inputs: ANI