Six injured in helicopter crash in Nagaland

Six occupants of a Pawan Hans helicopter were injured when it crash-landed at Meluri helipad in Nagaland's Phek district on Tuesday, a police official said.

Those injured included officials of the state government and that of the National Disaster Management Authority, Director-General of Police L.L. Doungel told IANS.

The ill-fated helicopter was on a routine flight from Dimapur airport to Meluri.

"An initial report indicates that two of the six occupants were seriously injured. We have been told that they are being rushed to Kohima for further medical treatment," he said.

Pawan Hans officials could not be contacted for comments. The accident happened because there was "no visibility while landing due to extreme dust," a government official said on condition of anonymity.

The latest accident does nothing to assuage the growing perception that Pawan Hans Helicopter Services Ltd has been running a very accident-prone service.

In August this year, a Pawan Hans chopper crashed in Arunachal Pradesh killing a government official, a pilot and a crew member.

Commercial chopper services had to be stopped in Arunachal Pradesh until 2013 when Pawan Hans restarted the service in the state and other parts of the region.

Pawan Hans has been operating chopper services in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura, as well as a daily Guwahati-Tawang service, for more than 15 years.