India / 2 Army pilots martyred after helicopter makes crash-landing in J&K

Jammu: Two pilots were killed after an army helicopter crashed on the hills near Patnitop in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir today.

Officials said the pilots of the Army Aviation helicopter were critically injured when it crashed. They were rescued by locals and rushed to hospital where doctors declared them brought dead.

Both the pilots were Major-rank officers, a senior army officer said. "We shifted them to hospital but unfortunately both lost their lives" the official added.

Visuals shared on social media showed the wrecked helicopter, a Cheetah, on a hillside and locals trying to pull out the pilots.

The Northern Command of the army on Twitter said that Major Rohit Kumar and Major Anuj Rajput "made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty on 21 Sept 2021 at Patnitop."

The incident took place around 10.30 am, officials said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Twitter said he was "disturbed to receive the news of Army Helicopter crash around Patnitop region."

This is second army helicopter crash in last seven weeks in Jammu and Kashmir. Last month, two pilots were killed after an army helicopter crashed into Ranjit Sagar dam. The body of one of the pilots is still missing.