Jammu, Dec 14: Nine persons, including seven Indian Air Force officials and two officials of Konkan Railways, were injured when an Indian Air Force helicopter crashed soon after taking off at Jammu airport on Tuesday morning.
 The Mi-26 heavy lift helicopter of the IAF was carrying some machinery for an under-construction site in Sangaldan area of Ramban district, when it crashed at technical airport here.
 “The helicopter crashed at around 9:30 AM immediately after take-off from a height below 50 feet. The helicopter was getting airborne for a routine mission,” said an official statement.
 “There were nine persons on board including the flight crew. No loss of life is reported in the accident,” said the statement.
 Immediately after the crash, rescue teams swung into action and evacuated the injured to military hospital.
 Sources said, the IAF and Airport Authority of India closed the airport for air traffic to clear the debris of the crashed chopper, immediately after the incident.
 Senior officers from Air Force, Army and Police also rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.
 Police said technical snag was the primary cause of the mishap, which however, was not so serious of a nature due to low altitude impact.
 However, a Court of Inquiry has been ordered to look into the cause of the accident.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:00:00 IST