India: Chopper Crash

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

Times of India

Five killed in Mussoorie chopper crash

DEHRA DUN: Five people, including the pilot, were killed and one was injured when a private helicopter crashed soon after it took off from the Hathipaun helipad in the higher reaches of Mussoorie on Tuesday, police said.

The chopper, with six people on board, took off from the helipad for Jollygrant airport in Dehra Dun at 12.05 p.m. and soon crashed into a hill, P K Joshi, senior superintendent of police told PTI.

He said two women were among those killed.

Joshi said the wreckage of the helicopter, which belonged to K P Singh, owner of a DLF company, has been found and an inquiry into the crash has been ordered, adding a team of senior police officials had reached the scene of the accident.

Aerodrome officer R M Maurya at Jollygrant airport here however said the pilot of the chopper did not give prior information to the airport authorities here before taking off, pointing out that he had no clue whether the chopper was supposed to land at the airport.

Meanwhile, director general of police in Uttaranchal Ashok Kant Sharma said the injured was admitted to the Army hospital in Mussoorie.

''It could be possible that the victims had gone to Mussoorie to celebrate New Year's eve," Sharma said.(PTI)

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), January 03, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ