7 IAS personnel killed as chopper crashes in Sitapur

All seven Air Force personnel, including the pilot and co-pilot, on board an IAF chopper were killed when it crashed in Sitapur late Friday afternoon.

District Magistrate of Sitapur, JP Singh, and other senior officers rushed to the spot soon after getting information about the crash and summoned fire-tenders to douse the fire which reportedly broke out in the chopper mid-air.

Senior officers also tried to contact the Air Traffic Control room in lucknow as the pilot had reportedly made a contact just before the crash for emergency landing due to some technical snag. According to IG (law and Order) Amrendra Sengar, the AlH Dhruv-370 with seven persons on board had taken off from Bareilly Air Force Station for Allahabad on Friday afternoon. 

He said that while flying over Sitapur, the AlH Dhruv-370 developed some snag after which the pilot made efforts for emergency landing at Panditpurwa locality of Atariya, about 50-kilometres from lucknow but the chopper crashed and caught fire around 4:30 pm.A Wing Commander, a Squadron leader, a Junior Warrant Officer, a sergeant and an lAC were among those killed in the crash.

An IAF spokesperson in Delhi said  the pilot of the chopper had given a ‘May Day call’ (emergency call) before the crash and then lost radio and radar contact.The IAF has ordered a Court of Inquiry and teams have been rushed to the crash site in Sitapur.