50 days since crash, Army still searching for missing helicopter pilot
The helicopter ALH WSI MK II Rudra crashed on August 3 and the mortal remains of Lt Col AS Baath from a depth of over 75m was recovered on August 15.
FollowNew Delhi: Search and rescue operations for the second pilot of the crashed Indian Army’s helicopter at Ranjit Sagar Dam of Jammu & Kashmir are on at war-footing level since 1.5 months.
The helicopter ALH WSI MK II Rudra crashed on August 3 and the mortal remains of Lt Col AS Baath from a depth of over 75m was recovered on August 15.
In order to review the ongoing operations, Western Army Commander Lt Gen Ravendra Pal Singh visited the crash site on Monday and urged the personnel involved in the search and rescue operations to further intensify efforts with focused approach towards recovering the mortal remains of second pilot.
“Search and Rescue operations for the second crew member of the ill fated helicopter which crashed into Ranjit Sagar Dam on 3rd Aug 21 are ongoing with focussed and sustained efforts of Indian Navy, Army, NDRF and Civilian agencies,” Western Army Command said in a series of tweets.
Indian Army’s Rising Star Corps General Officer Commanding Lt Gen PN Ananthanarayanan has been regularly monitoring the search operation and also regularly visiting the crash site to coordinate the efforts.
Indian Navy and Army have employed their best equipment and trained manpower along with civilian experts to search for the second pilot, it said.
The Command further said that the Indian Army is fully committed towards rescue of second pilot, Capt Jayant Joshi and share the grief of the family in this difficult hour.
Built at HAL, the chopper was belonging to Indian Army’s Pathankot-based 254 ALH-WSI squadron and was conducting a training sortie, involving low-level flying over the Dam.
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