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Helicopter may have been shot down: IAF

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

The Indian Air Force late Monday evening said it does not rule out the possibility of its helicopter, which crashed on Sunday afternoon in Rann of Katch, being shot down by Pakistan.

Air Chief Marshal AY Tipnis told Star News that there was no engine failure reported before the crash. He did not speak about a pilot error either.

He said the possibility of the Mi-8 helicopter being shot down "cannot be ruled out."

There were a couple of fishing boats in the area when the senior BSF officers were carrying out the routine recce over the area. The BSF officials asked for closer observation, and it was then that the helicopter crashed.

The co-pilot of the helicopter told the Air Force chief, who visited the area late Monday afternoon, that he did not report any engine failure.

The Air Force chief quoted local BSF officials as saying that there are no Indian fishing boats in the area, indicating indirectly that the boats belong to the Pakistani side.

The entire Rann of Kutch is a volatile region. In 1999 August, Indian Air Force had shot down an Atlantique aircraft of Pakistan with over 22 naval personnel of that country on board.

The shooting down had heightened the tension and both sides had stepped up security in the region. Ever since the Atlantique shooting down, the Border Security Force has been carrying out reconnaissance of the area in IAF helicopters.

According to the Air Force chief, there are at least five survivors. The rest seven are feared killed. None of the bodies have been so far recovered.

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