India Army's Cheetah helicopter crashes in J&K's Gurez sector; co-pilot killed, pilot critical

One pilot was killed and another remains critical after an Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashed in the Baraub area of Gurez sector in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday afternoon while on a routine mission to evacuate an ailing soldier from a forward post.

As per the information provided by the Defence PRO of Srinagar, the copter crashed before evacuating an ailing soldier.

"The helicopter lost communication contact with the forward post at Gujran, Baraub. A search operation on foot was immediately launched by the Indian Army alongside search and rescue helicopters which were pressed into service. The wreckage of the crashed helicopter was found in a snowbound Gujran Nallah area of North Kashmir's Bandipora," the statement reads.

The pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter were grievously injured in the crash and were immediately evacuated to Command Hospital in Udhampur.

Major Sankalp Yadav (29), the co-pilot succumbed to his injuries at 92 Base Hospital. Major Yadav was commissioned in 2015 and was a resident of Rajasthan's Jaipur. He is survived by his father.

The injured pilot is critical, however stable and is presently in ICU at 92 Base Hospital. The events leading to the crash of the helicopter are being ascertained.