Indian army helicopter makes 'hard landing', three hurt

Immediate rescue operations were launched and the three injured personnel were taken to an army hospital, army said

SRINAGAR:

An Indian army helicopter made a "hard landing" in a remote part of Indian Kashmir on Thursday injuring the two pilots and a technician on board, the army said.

The indigenously produced Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) reported a technical fault to air traffic control and made a precautionary landing on the banks of a river in the remote Kishtwar region, the army said.

"Due to the undulating ground, undergrowth and unprepared landing area, the helicopter apparently made a hard landing," the army said, adding that a court of inquiry had been ordered.

Immediate rescue operations were launched and the three injured personnel were taken to an army hospital, it said.

There had been extensive checks on the ALH fleet after two crashes, media reported last month.

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In 2022, five Indian army soldiers were killed when their helicopter crashed near the country's disputed border with China, the defence ministry said.

The Advance Light Helicopter came down south of Tuting, a remote town near the Line of Actual Control which divides India's northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state from Chinese territory.

Four bodies had been recovered and rescuers were working to retrieve the fifth and final occupant of the helicopter, the statement said.