Debris of missing IAF chopper found in Arunachal's Pampunpare

Itanagar: Wreckage of Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper found in Pampunpare district of Arunachal Pradesh after the Army, the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Arunachal Pradesh police on Wednesday launched a search operation to locate the chopper which went missing with three crew members on board near Sagalee in Papum Pare district here on Tuesday.

"Wreckage of missing IAF Chopper found near Chopoyoha at Papum Pare dist in Arunachal Pradesh," said IGP (Law & Order) Nabin Payeng.

The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the IAF engaged in flood rescue mission in the state went missing on Tuesday at 3.50 PM after it took off from Pilputu helipad near Sagalee.

Read: IAF chopper in rescue mission goes missing in Arunachal Pradesh

The helicopter was evacuating people stranded in Sagalee and Dambuk due to massive landslides caused by heavy rains. Tezpur-based Defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Sombit Ghosh said the chopper had gone out for flood rescue operations from its base in Jorhat on Tuesday morning.

Sagalee additional deputy commissioner J Pertin said the IAF helicopter, which was pressed into evacuation of people stranded due to floods in the area, had made five sorties since it arrived there at around 10.30 AM on Tuesday.

"In the sixth sortie to Naharlagun, the crew for unknown reasons did not take the last batch of nine civilians and took off from Sagalee," he added.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu had on Tuesday tweeted, "Successfully evacuated 169 stranded people that include women, children from flood affected areas of Sagalee and
Dambuk through IAF."

Sagalee is north of Itanagar, while Dambuk in lower Dibang Valley district is about 350 km east from here.

In May last, a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet with two pilots of Indian Air Force had crashed near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.