3 die as helicopter for flood relief hits electric cable, crashes in Uttarakhand

Three people were killed including Pilot and Engineer after a helicopter involved in relief efforts in flood-hit Uttarakhand crashed in the Uttarkashi district on Wednesday and erupted in flames after it got entangled in the overhead electricity wires.

Dehradun:Three people were killed after a helicopter involved in relief efforts in flood-hit Uttarakhand crashed in the Uttarkashi district on Wednesday and erupted in flames after it got entangled in the overhead electricity wires.

The State Disaster Response Force said the dead have been identified as Captain Lal, co-pilot Shailesh and a local person named Rajpal. A team of 10 members has been sent to the site of the crash.

Six helicopters have been crashed since 2013 in Uttrakhand and more than 25 people have been killed. More than 10 people were injured.

The maximum number of helicopters were crashed during Kedarnath cloud burst incident.

In 2013, an Air Force Mi-17 helicopter which was engaged in relief and rescue operations in Kedarnath was crashed. 19 people were killed in the accident.

On May 18, 2017, a private company's helicopter crashed on the helipad itself in Kedarnath.

The recent incident occurred in Moldi The helicopter crashed while returning after distributing relief material among the affected people, Uttarkashi Disaster Management officer Devendra Patwal told a reporter.