A Mi-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with six personnel on board made a force landing 10 nautical miles short of designated helipad due to bad weather here on Thursday.
An IAF spokesperson said, "It was on routine air maintenance sortie from Chaten to Mukutang in Sikkim today. All six personnel on board are safe, one person has been injured."
"The helicopter got airborne at 6:45 am and enroute, the helicopter has force landed 10 nautical miles short of the designated helipad due to bad weather, while the helicopter has sustained damage, all six personnel on board (four Aircrew of IAF and two personnel of Indian Army) are reported to be safe. One person has sustained injury," the IAF spokesperson said.
"Two recovery helicopters and an Army ground search party have been launched for rescue and are yet to reach the site. An investigation has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," the spokesperson added.
( With inputs from ANI )