Morale high despite Gaurikund chopper crash: IAF chief

A day after a IAF chopper crashed killing about 20 people in flood-hit Uttarakhand, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne on Wednesday said the morale of the force and other security units remains high in spite of the tragedy, and added that the air force and the army has adequate resources on ground to resolve the crisis.

Air Chief Marshal Browne, who was speaking to media after visiting the crash site, commended security personnel for their national spirit, and said that the IAF is not going anywhere.

"Morale is still very high...Our rotors will not stop churning", he said.

"What exactly happened we will know only once we recover MI17 voice data recorder. We have sent commandos to the crash site. We have recovered recording devices and only analysis will reveal the cause of the crash," Air Chief Marshal Browne said.

"We are not ruling out anything, it (crash) could be technical related or weather related," he added.

According to reports, at least 20 people were killed as the IAF Mi-17 crashed north of Gaurikund while returning from a rescue mission from Guptkashi and Kedarnath.

The IAF had started inducting Mi-17 V5 choppers only last year after ordering 80 of them from Russia.

This is the second incident of a helicopter crash this week in the hill state.

A private helicopter carrying relief materials for the rain-affected people in Rudraprayag district had crashed on Sunday near Gaurikund leaving the pilot injured.