RAIPUR: Two pilots were killed at Raipur airport after a helicopter belonging to Chhattisgarh government crashed at a runway at Raipur’s Swami Vivekanand Airport on Thursday night.
While there were no passengers on board, the two pilots sustained severe injuries and were rushed to a private hospital, where they were declared dead.
अभी रायपुर में एयरपोर्ट पर स्टेट हेलीकॉप्टर के क्रैश होने की दुखद सूचना मिली.इस दुखद हादसे में हमारे दोनों पायलट… https://t.co/KgX4StmoQk— Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) 1652373642000
The deceased pilots have been identified as Captain Gopal Krishna Panda and Captain A P Shrivastava.
An official spokesman confirmed that Chhattisgarh state helicopter crashed around 9.10 pm. “It was on a routine training sortie. Initial indications suggest technical malfunction as the cause of the crash”, he said.
A detailed technical investigation at the behest of DGCA and the state government shall be undertaken to ascertain the exact cause.
The state helicopter is regularly used for VIP movement and travel of senior officers within the state.
This is the second state-owned helicopter to crash. In July 2007, a state helicopter crashed on the hills of Chhattisgarh Maharashtra border while returning to the state after maintenance works in Madhya Pradesh capital.
Two pilots, an engineer and a senior technician were then on board the ill-fated chopper.
