A pilot was killed and another critically injured on Friday afternoon when an Army Cheetah helicopter  crashed in Baraub area of north Kashmir’s Gurez in Bandipora district. The helicopter was on a routine mission to evacuate an ailing soldier from a forward post.

A Defence spokesman said; “The helicopter lost communication contact with the forward post at Gujran, Baraub. A search operation on foot was immediately launched by the Indian Army alongside search and rescue helicopters which were pressed into service. The wreckage of the crashed helicopter was found in a snow bound Gujran Nallah area of Bandipora. Pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter were grievously injured in the crash and were immediately evacuated to Base Hospital, Srinagar”.

Major Sankalp Yadav, the co-pilot succumbed to his injuries at 92 Base Hospital. The injured pilot was further evacuated to Command Hospital, Udhampur. He is critical, but stable. Events leading to the crash of the helicopter are being ascertained.

Braveheart, Major Sankalp Yadav, 29 years old, was commissioned in Indian Army in 2015 and was a resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan. He is survived by his father.

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