Navy officer dies after copter crashes in river

One person died after a Chetak helicopter of the Indian Navy (IN468) crashed into the Sharada River near Anakapalle, about 40 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, on Wednesday noon.

There were four persons on board the chopper and one of them, petty officer, Mr Krishna Kumar, died. He was taken to the NTR Hospital in Anakapalle where he was declared dead.

The three others, the pilot, Mr Tushar, the co-pilot, Ms Deepika Mishra, and Lt. Hrushikesh, sustained only minor injuries and were whisked away by naval officers after being given first aid.

It was at around 12.15 pm that the helicopter of the Eastern Naval command crashed into the waters of Sharada. “We saw the helicopter losing altitude and going down even before it approached the banks of the river,” said Mr K. Madhava Rao, an eyewitness. “It then hit a high tension power wire at a height of 120 feet and catapulted into the river.”

Mr Madhava Rao said he and six of his friends immediately swam to the helicopter and helped those inside to get out.

IAF MiG 21 crashes in West Bengal

An Indian Air Force MiG-21 combat jet crashed soon after take-off from Bagdora in West Bengal on Friday but the pilot ejected to safety, an IAF spokesman said.

“The aircraft crashed around 3 p.m. soon after take-off and the pilot, Squadron Leader Rahul Tiwari, ejected safely,” the spokesman added.

“The pilot was picked up by an SAR (search and rescue) helicopter and has been taken to hospital,” the spokesman said.

This is the second crash of an IAF fighter in three days. A MiG-27 had crashed near the Hashimara air base, also in West Bengal, on Tuesday.