An army helicopter crashed in the Patnitop area of Udhampur district in the Shivgarh Jungle above Nag Devta Mandir about an hour ago. The pilot and co-pilot Major Rohit Kumar & Major Anuj Rajput were critically injured during the helicopter crash, evacuated to the nearest medical facility but later succumbed to their injuries.
Two helicopters of the Army, which were on a sortie to Gulabgarh; Kishtwar area while returning to Udhampur experienced bad weather/fog around 1100 hrs today near Patnitop and one of them has crashed in a civilian area of Shivgarh area. The other landed safely.
The 2 Indian Army pilots Maj Rohit Kumar & Maj Anuj Rajput in the Cheetah helicopter crash near Udhampur, J&K have succumbed to their injuries.
Deepest condolences to their families 🙏💐🇮🇳#OmShanti #KnowYourHeroes #IndianArmy #BravestOfTheBrave #Jaihind https://t.co/h3Ybad7cSP pic.twitter.com/hujkfI5c8S— Defence Squad (@Defence_Squad_) September 21, 2021
The police have said that excessive fog in the area had reduced visibility, which may have led to the accident.
In a statement, the Indian Army said, “Today during a training sortie in Patnitop area, an Indian Army Cheetah Helicopter crash-landed in Shiv Garh Dhar area in Udhampur district. Two pilots have been injured and evacuated to the hospital.”
However, in a later update, it was said that both the personnel have passed away.
