Kishtwar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 4 : An aviation technician who was among the three members on board the Army helicopter, which crashed after a "hard landing" in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district on Thursday afternoon has succumbed to his injuries, Army officials said.
The condition of two pilots who were also injured are have been reported to be stable.
General Officer Commanding-in-chief of the Northern Command Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi paid rich tributes to the technician.
"#LtGenUpendraDwivedi, #ArmyCdrNC & All Ranks #Northern Command offer tribute to supreme sacrifice of CFN (Avn Tech) Pabballa l, in the line of duty during Operational flying of ALH MK III near #Kishtwar #JammuKashmir & offer deepest condolences to the bereaved family," the official Twitter account of Northern Command of the Indian Army posted.
The pilots had reported a technical fault to the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and proceeded for a precautionary landing, an Army statement said.
"Due to the undulating ground, undergrowth and unprepared landing area, the helicopter apparently made a hard landing", the Army statement read.
The deceased aviation technician along with two pilots were rushed to the command hospital in Udhampur but succumbed to injuries.
According to officials, the Army ALH Dhruv Helicopter crashed near Machhna village in Marwah area of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar at around 11:45 AM. Following the crash, immediate rescue operations were launched by Army rescue teams who reached the site.
According to an official statement by the Northern Command, Army ALH Dhruv Helicopter made a 'precautionary landing' in the Marwah area.
"Two pilots and a technician were on board. All three injured personnel have been evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur," according to the statement.
A court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident to ascertain the cause of the crash.
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