Indian Air Force's MI-17 helicopter makes emergency landing near Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh

An MI-17 helicopter made an emergency landing at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh due to bad weather, reports have said. All sixteen passengers on board are safe. The helicopter was on a routine mission from Tuting when it was forced to land on Thursday afternoon, PTI reported. [caption id=“attachment_5361531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image of MI-17 chopper. Reuters[/caption] According to CNN News18, the MI-17 chopper was forced to land in a village near Tuting in the Upper Siang district. Frequently changing weather conditions in Arunachal Pradesh make flying of choppers difficult in the area and there have been several incidents of crashes in the hill state in the past. In October 2017, seven defence personnel were killed after an MI-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh’s Chuna area. In July the same year, an IAF chopper engaged in a flood rescue mission crashed near Papum Pare district in the hill state killing four persons including three IAF crew and one India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel. In 2011, the then Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu , and four others also died in a chopper crash in the hill state.