Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Five killed in helicopter crash in northeastern India

.- At least five people were killed and several injured in an accident involving a civilian helicopter with 23 people on board who was preparing to land in the Indian town of Tawang (northeast), official sources told Efe and the airline. The helicopter caught fire shortly before landing at the heliport of Tawang and landed on a nearby hill, told Efe an airline official Pawan Hans, which owned the wrecked machine.

"There were 18 passengers, including two children, and five crew members, "he told Efe Indian Parliament deputy Takam Sanjay, who represents the district where the accident occurred. Tawang is located in the Arunachal Pradesh region of India, a country with poor communications sharp the rest of the country and already there had been other accidents.

The authorities said Sanjay, have already started rescue operations and are providing health care to survivors, but the deputy was unable to say if the search teams have located all passengers and crew. The helicopter, an Mi-17 model, covering a daily commute between the northeastern cities of Guwahati and Tawang, and crashed at 13.57 local time (27.08 GMT), according to IANS India agency said, adding that all are dead Indians.

"He called for an investigation. The status of these devices was not the best, and know that their maintenance was questionable. We need to know if security was adequate, reported Sanjay, who belongs to the Congress Party government. In November 2010, twelve soldiers of Indian Army were killed in an accident similar to Mi-17 helicopter had just taken off from Tawang, capital of a district whose sovereignty claims in neighboring China.

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