One killed, two injured as Navy copter crashes in Kochi
The chopper's rotor blades struck the naval official on the runway, causing his death, according to reports.
Massive search operation for the 2 pilots who went missing after their helicopter crashed into the Ranjit Sagar Dam entered 12th day today with no apparent findings.
A defence statement to this effect said, “The search operations for Indian Army Pilots and the helicopter which had crashed into the Ranjit Sagar Dam has intensified with submarine rescue unit of Indian Navy being flown in to explore digitally located wreckage at depth of approximately 80-100 meters.
“Indian Air Force has lifted the heavy equipment from Visakhapatnam to Pathankot for speeding up the underwater search. Indian Army and all other agencies including navy, IAF, NDRF, Ranjit Sagar Dam Authority, district authorities including the locals are sparing no efforts for bringing the operations to a final conclusion,” the statement said.
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It may be recalled that the two pilots went missing after the helicopter crash in Ranjit Sagar Dam in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district while the military authorities had said in a statement that it is leaving no stone unturned to search for the helicopter which crashed and sank on August 3, 2021, along with two pilots.
A defence statement said that the expanse of the dam is 25 km long, 8 km wide and more than 500 feet deep. “This deep underwater operation is especially challenging due to the near-zero visibility below 50 meters owing to the colloidal nature of water in this season which adversely impacts the accuracy of sonars and other sensors.
“Experts, specialised equipment and divers are being continuously flown in and international assistance is also being sought.
“No efforts are being spared for early conclusion of the search operation. A small area of 60m by 60m has been localised and special sonar equipment flown in from Kochi is being employed to enable the search operations to enter their final phase”.
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