At least seven feared dead, including six IAF officers and civilian, after Mi-17 chopper crashes in J&K's Budgam

At least one civilian and six Indian Air Force (IAF) officers were killed on Wednesday after a Mi-17 chopper crashed near Garend Kalan village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam.

According to reports, the accident happened due to a technical glitch, killing the pilot and the co-pilot along with crew members.

The incident occurred on a day IAF fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and destroyed the “biggest” JeM terror camp in Pakistan’s Balakot in a pre-dawn strike on Tuesday.

Scene of the crash site in #Budgam . Major flood of military personnel into the area. pic.twitter.com/u1GIRxPY1R

Scene of the crash site in #Budgam. Major flood of military personnel into the area. pic.twitter.com/u1GIRxPY1R

— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) February 27, 2019

“Locals gathered around the accident site and a major presence of military personnel was also reported from the area. One civilian also died in the crash,” said reports.

One of the deceased persons has been identified as Kifayat Hussain Ganaie, a local resident, while the identity of other four - believed to be IAF personnel - is being ascertained, they said.

“The helicopter crashed in an open field near the Garend Kalaan village in Budgam at 10.05 am,” News18 reported.

Earlier, officials in Srinagar had described the downed aircraft as a jet. They said the aircraft broke into two and caught fire immediately.

With inputs from PTI