By India Today News Desk: Two days after an Army chopper crashed near Machhna village in Marwah tehsil in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing an Army jawan, defence officials on Saturday said that the operations of the advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv choppers have been halted as a precautionary measure by the force.
The measure has been taken in view of the crash in which one Army jawan lost his life on May 4. The chopper had three people onboard.
The choppers had been grounded for more than a month after two accidents involving helicopters of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard and resumed operations a few days back.
The chopper on May 4 crashed after a technical fault. The ALH Dhruv on an operational mission came down on the banks of a river in Marwah area, cut off from the district headquarters due to heavy snow.
ALH Dhruv fleet operations halted after Navy chopper accident in March
After an Indian Navy helicopter met with an accident on March 8, the defence forces stopped operations of the entire fleet of ALH Dhruv choppers following an inquiry into the incident.
The ALH choppers are flown by all three defence forces, including the Army, Navy and Air Force, along with the Indian Coast Guard.
“The operations have been stopped till the investigations into the ALH chopper accident off Mumbai coast are done and precautionary checks are carried out,” top defence forces’ sources told India Today in March.
