IAF chopper force-lands in Arunachal Pradesh, crew safe

An Mi-17 chopper of the Indian Air Force (IAF), with two pilots and three crew members on board, force-landed in eastern Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday after encountering a technical snag, defence sources said.

All five of them are safe, having sustained just minor injuries, the sources said.

The chopper was on a maintenance sortie when it had to force-land in Lohit sector of the state.

A court of inquiry will be ordered to ascertain the reasons behind the incident, the sources added.

In September, two pilots were killed when an Army helicopter crash-landed on a hill in Shiv Garh Dhar area near Patnitop tourist resort in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir.