The mortal remains of Lt Colonel VVB Reddy and his co-pilot Major Jayanth A will be flown to Hyderabad and Madurai on Friday by IAF aircraft after the wreath laying ceremony at Tezpur, Assam.
The two pilots lost their lives when the Cheetah helicopter they were in crashed near Mandala in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday morning.
The helicopter was on an operational sortie from Missamari in Assam’s Sonitpur district to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, defence spokesperson Lt Colonel Mahendra Rawat said in Guwahati. The flight encountered “inconducive weather” and was returning to Missamari when it crashed, he said.
“The helicopter lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) around 9.15 am. Five search parties of the Indian Army, SSB and ITBP were immediately launched. The wreckage of the aircraft was found near Banglajaap east village of Mandala,” Rawat added.
“A Court of Inquiry is ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” he added.
The remains of Lt Col Reddy is expected to reach Hyderabad at around 6:00 pm while Maj Jayanth’s is expected to arrive at Madurai at 8:00 pm.
The Eastern Command, in a tweet, said the Army stands firm with the bereaved families.
“LtGenRPKalita #ArmyCdrEC & All Ranks offer tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Lt Col VVB Reddy & Maj Jayanth A, in the line of duty at Mandala, #ArunachalPradesh while carrying out operational flying of Cheetah Helicopter,” it said.
#LtGenRPKalita #ArmyCdrEC & All Ranks offer tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Lt Col VVB Reddy & Maj Jayanth A, in the line of duty at Mandala, #ArunachalPradesh while carrying out operational flying of Cheetah Helicopter. #IndianArmy stands firm with the bereaved families pic.twitter.com/XimeZQ0pan
— EasternCommand_IA (@easterncomd) March 16, 2023
In a tweet, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “My heartfelt tributes to Lt Col VVB Reddy and Maj Jayanth A who lost their lives in a tragic Helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh. We salute their sacrifice, service and devotion in the line of duty. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families.”
Earlier in the day, Rohit Rajbir Singh, the superintendent of police, Special Investigation Cell (SIC), said villagers had found the crashed chopper ablaze in Dirang, and informed district officials.
“Villagers from Bangjalep at Dirang located the chopper around 12.30 pm,” Singh said.
The area has no mobile connectivity, and the weather is extremely foggy with visibility as low as five meters, he said.
(With Inputs from PTI)
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