S P O T L I G H T

IAF copter crashes near Kotla
Dharamsala, February 19
An Air Force MI-35 helicopter, on a training flight from the Pathankot air base, crashed after getting entangled in wires of a transmission tower near Kotla today morning. According to eyewitnesses, one of the two helicopters hit the wires of a132-kv transmission tower on a hillock near the Kotla bridge. “All three occupants of the helicopter jumped out before it caught fire and fell into the river,” said Dinesh who owns a shop in the adjoining market. Flt-Lieut A.P. Deshpande, Flt-Lieut H. Kushdekar and Sergeant S. Tripathi bailed out before the helicopter caught fire. Sergeant Tripathi has been admitted to Nurpur Hospital with minor injuries while the other two are unhurt. According to the ASP, Mr Ram Lal the crash took place at 12.40 p.m. Parts of the helicopter were strewn all over the area. Some parts also hit adjoining houses. A team of IAF officials from Pathankot has arrived at the accident site. TNS