Jammu: A chopper of the Indian Army crashed into Ranjit Sagar Lake in Basholi area of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday morning.
Army sources said that it was an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) that took off from the Army’s Aviation Squadron at Mamun Cantonment in Pathankot, Punjab.
‘As per reports, there were 2-3 crew members in the copter and as of now, there are no reports of any casualty,’ they said.
Army sources further said that a rescue operation is launched and more confirmed details are awaited.
Ranjit Sagar (Reservoir) Dam shares boundaries with Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kathua Ramesh Kotwal told UNI that there are reports of a chopper crash, adding, ‘as per eyewitnesses it is an army chopper.’
‘The chopper, as per reports, has crashed into deep waters of the Ranjit Sagar Lake. Rescue boats are pressed into service while from the Punjab side, SDRF teams have also reached the spot.’
‘We have also requested the Deputy Commissioner Kathua to rush divers to the site of the incident,’ he said.
Earlier in January, one pilot had died after an Indian Army helicopter crashed in Kathua district’s Lakhanpur near the Jammu and Kashmir-Punjab border.
The HAL Dhruv helicopter had crashed after developing a technical snag.
