The deceased officers are Lieutenant Colonel VVB Reddy from Telangana and his co-pilot Major Jayanth A from Tamil Nadu.
Published Mar 17, 2023 | 4:09 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 17, 2023 | 4:10 PM
The helicopter encountered "inconducive weather" and was returning to Missamari when it crashed. (Supplied)
The mortal remains of two Army officers — Lieutenant Colonel VVB Reddy and his copilot Major Jayanth A — who lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, 16 March, will reach Hyderabad and Madurai, respectively, on Friday evening.
Air Force planes are expected to reach Hyderabad at 5.30 pm carrying the body of Reddy, and at Madurai Airport around 8 pm with the body of Jayanth.
Reddy’s funeral is expected to take place on Saturday. His body will likely be taken to the Bommalaramaram village in Keesara mandal of Yadadri district for the last rites.
Jayanth’s remains will be taken to the Jayamangalam village in the southern part of the Theni district of Tamil Nadu.
Lieutenant Colonel Vuppala Vinay Bhanu Reddy was from the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana.
His parents shifted to Hyderabad from his native village 25 years ago. His father V Narasimha Reddy used to work for the Republic Forge Company (RFC) and settled in the Durganagar Colony in Malkajgiri.
Reddy served in the Indian Army for 23 years. He joined the National Defence Academy at the age of 17 and trained at the Dundigal and Hakimpet air force bases in Telangana, going on to become a helicopter pilot in the Army.
His wife Dr Spandana Reddy is a dentist in the Army’s Pune Military Hospital. She went to Tezpur and was accompanying the body back to Hyderabad.
Major Jayanth A is from the Jayamangalam village near Periyakulam in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu. His kin said he was the first person from the family to join the Army.
According to reports, a pall of gloom descended on the village from where he hailed as locals and family members gathered at his house to mourn his death.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed shock and condoled the death of the Major.
In a statement, the chief minister expressed shock and anguish over Jayanth’s demise.
“On behalf of the government of Tamil Nadu, I extend my condolences and sympathies to his colleagues, family, friends and the people of the country,” he said.
அவரது பிரிவால் வாடும் குடும்பத்தினருக்கு தமிழ்நாடு அரசின் சார்பில் ஆழ்ந்த இரங்கல்” என மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்கள் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
2/2
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) March 17, 2023
The two pilots on board a Cheetah helicopter of the Army were killed when it crashed near Mandala in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday.
Defence spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Rawat in a statement said in Guwahati that the helicopter was on an operational sortie from Missamari in Assam’s Sonitpur district to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
He said the flight encountered “inconducive weather” and was returning to Missamari when it crashed.
“The helicopter lost contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) around 9.15 am. Five search parties of the Indian Army, SSB and ITBP were immediately launched. The wreckage of the aircraft was found near the Banglajaap east village of Mandala,” Rawat said.
“A Court of Inquiry is ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” he added.
The Eastern Command, in a tweet, said the Army stands firm with the bereaved families.
“LtGenRPKalita #ArmyCdrEC & All Ranks offer tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Lt Col VVB Reddy & Maj Jayanth A, in the line of duty at Mandala, #ArunachalPradesh while carrying out operational flying of Cheetah Helicopter,” it said.
#LtGenRPKalita #ArmyCdrEC & All Ranks offer tribute to the supreme sacrifice of Lt Col VVB Reddy & Maj Jayanth A, in the line of duty at Mandala, #ArunachalPradesh while carrying out operational flying of Cheetah Helicopter. #IndianArmy stands firm with the bereaved families pic.twitter.com/XimeZQ0pan
— EasternCommand_IA (@easterncomd) March 16, 2023
In a tweet, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “My heartfelt tributes to Lt Col VVB Reddy and Maj Jayanth A who lost their lives in a tragic Helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh. We salute their sacrifice, service and devotion in the line of duty. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families.”
My heartfelt tributes to Lt Col VVB Reddy and Maj Jayanth A who lost their lives in a tragic Helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh. We salute their sacrifice, service and devotion in the line of duty. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. https://t.co/oF14c2kNr4
— Rajnath Singh (मोदी का परिवार) (@rajnathsingh) March 16, 2023
Rohit Rajbir Singh, the superintendent of police of the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) in Arunachal Pradesh, said in a statement that villagers found the crashed chopper ablaze in Dirang, and informed district officials.
“Villagers from Bangjalep at Dirang located the chopper around 12.30 pm,” Singh said.
He said the area has no mobile connectivity and the weather is extremely foggy with visibility as low as five metres.
