Arunachal CM's body found by villagers

A group of 10 villagers from Luguthang find crash site before defence personnel, identify three charred bodies

Even as hundreds of state and army personnel equipped with hi-tech gear were engaged in locating the crash site of Arunachal Pradesh CM Dorjee Khandu's chopper, a group of 10 villagers managed to find it last morning, and identified the CM's body.u00a0The extensive search operation undertaken by residents of Luguthang, a village just north of Sela Pass, the third highest pass in the world, under the leadership of their area committee member, Tsering, succeeded in detecting the CM's body last morning. Although the bodies have been detected, they were yet to be lifted from the crash site at the time of going to press.


In memoriam: The bodies, including that of Dorjee Khandu, will be
taken to Itanagar in a day or two. File Pic/AFP

"A group of 10 villagers from Luguthang detected the crash site, almost 15 km from the village at around 10 am. Later, one of the members, who had seen the CM on many occasions, identified his dead body, which was less charred than the others. They also identified my sister's body. After detecting the crash site, the villagers informed me via WLL phone," said Tsewang Dhondup, the MLA from Tawang whose sister was travelling with the CM to Itanagar.u00a0

u00a0Luguthang is situated at a height of 1,500 square feet from sea level. The village has only one WLL phone, which can be used only when villagers take it to a height of 100 feet to get network reception.u00a0More than 2,400 army personnel, 200 ITBP jawans, two Sukhoi supersonic fighter aircraft, two Chetak helicopters, several M-17 specialised helicopters, and around 500 state police personnel have been on a round-the-clock search operation ever since the four-seater Pawan Hans crashed and killed all its five occupants.u00a0Due to heavy rains, it may take one or two days to bring the bodies to Itanagar. "The weather is very bad here, I don't think the body will be recovered today or tomorrow," said Dhondup.

Mystery remains
Despite the chopper being traced and the CM's body being identified, there are a few puzzles the authorities are yet to solve. Who was the anonymous caller who confirmed that the CM was safe and why did the CM travel in a single-engine chopper?

A senior state government official informed MiD DAY that the anonymous call was made from the same satellite phone which was given to the chopper's pilot. But State Home Minister Tako Dabi disagreed. "I don't find any truth in all these rumors. This is not the time to debate such things."

Said Dhondup, "I would always advise the CM not to use the single-engine chopper. There was a double-engine chopper available for him but on that day it was with someone else." The Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter carrying the CM and four others went missing after it took off from Tawang at 9.50 am on Saturday. The last radio contact with the ground was about 20 minutes after take off as it flew over the Sela Pass along the Chinese border.

Ill-fated flight
It was a twist of fate which led to the death of Yeshi Luma, sister of MLA Tsewang Dhondup, who would never have been on the same chopper as the CM had it not been for an illness. MiD DAY exclusively spoke to Dhondup, who said he did not imagine that it would be her sister's last journey.

"She was not keeping well for a few days. As the CM was leaving for Itanagar, I thought of sending her to the capital for better treatment. I requested the CM, who hails from my constituency to take her along. Without any hesitation he agreed to take her on board. I did not know that I would lose her forever," he said. "It is a double loss for me. I have lost a guardian and a sister."

In the past
September 2001: Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia, and six others, including four senior journalists, died in a plane crash near Mota village in Bhogaon tehsil of Mainpuri district of central Uttar Pradesh.

April 2005: Om Prakash Jindal, the chairman of the OP Jindal Group and Haryana Power Minister, died in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

September 2009: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy died when his helicopter crashed in the Nallamalla forests of Andhra's Kurnool district

April 19, 2011: A Pawan Hans helicopter carrying 26 people crashed in Tawang, resulting in 17 deaths and six people being injured.