A technician was killed and two pilots were injured after an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv with three people on board crashed following a “hard landing” in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district today.

“At about 1115 hours on 04 May 2023, an Army Aviation ALH Dhruv helicopter on an operational mission made a precautionary landing on the banks of Marua river in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Udhampur-based Northern Command said in a statement.

A court of inquiry has been ordered and further details are being ascertained, the Army said in a statement.

“Due to the undulating ground, undergrowth and unprepared landing area, the helicopter apparently made a hard landing. Immediate rescue operations were launched and Army rescue teams reached the site,” the statement said.