Joint operations resumed to locate missing chopper

Itanagar, May 1 (PTI) The Army, Sashastra Seema Bal
(SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the state police
resumed their joint operation on Sunday morning to locate a
missing chopper carrying the Chief Minister of the north-
eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu, and
four others.
While inclement weather is preventing the two Indian
Air Force (IAF) choppers being positioned at the north-eastern
city of Tezpur and Guwahati to carry out search and rescue
operations, ground search is on along the India-Bhutan border
in the state, sources at the Chief Minister's Office and
police headquarters here told PTI.
Search teams from neighbouring Bhutan have also
launched rescue operation in seven districts of that country,
sources said.
The four-seater single-engine Pawan Hans helicopter
AS-B350-B-3 went missing after 20 minutes of its take off from
Tawang at 9.56 am on Saturday with five on board including
crew members Captain J S Babbar, Captain T S Mamik, Khandu's
security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of
Tawang MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) Tsewang Dhondup.
The chopper was to land at Itanagar at about 11.30 am.
The Guwahati air traffic control had reportedly received the
last radio communication from the chopper near Sela Pass area,
20 minutes after take off from Tawang.
The state government has set up a crisis management
cell with principal secretary to CM Yeshi Tsering, civil
aviation commissioner Hage Khoda, home secretary A K
Srivastav, IGP SBK Singh, DIGP (West) Robin Hibu, DIG
(Intelligence) Anil Shukla, City DC Pawan Kumar Sain and SP
Apang Tamut as its members.
The committee will be monitoring the situation under
the overall guidance and supervision of Chief Secretary Tabam
Bam.
Conflicting reports emerged throughout the day
yesterday over the disappearance of the chopper with initial
reports claiming that the chopper had landed safely at Eastern
Bhutan. However, later in the evening there were denials from
all concerned saying the helicopter had not been located and
search operation was on.
To locate the chopper, the Army and Air Force had
launched search operations yesterday, but was called off in
the evening due to poor visibility.
Meanwhile, two Chetak helicopters and an IAF's MI7
have also been pressed into search operations.
At Assam's Tezpur air force base, a Sukhoi aircraft
has been kept on standby to assist any rescue work, official
sources said.