Indian Army chopper strays into Pakistan, four held

October 23, 2011 | Politics | Written by

Srinagar/New Delhi/Islamabad, Oct 23: An Indian Army Chetak chopper strayed into and made an emergency landing in Pakistani Kashmir Sunday due to bad weather, Indian officials and Pakistani media reported. Pakistan detained the four Indian officers on board.

Indian officials said pilot error forced the chopper to stray across the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

An official in New Delhi said the director general of military operations (DGMA) has been informed and contact had been initiated with Pakistan to retrieve the chopper and its passengers.

The helicopter carried three officers, including the two pilots, and a junior commissioned officer (JCO) and an engineer officer.

It had taken off from Leh in Kashmir’s Ladakh region and was bound for Bhimbhat in Kargil region, close to the LoC, to bail out an Indian Army Dhruv helicopter that had developed a snag.

IANS