Team of Army, IAF personnel rescue helicopter crew in daring ops in Sikkim

In a daring operation, a joint team of Indian Air Force and the Army on Friday rescued six crew members of an Mi-17 military helicopter from a snow-capped mountain at an altitude of 15,500 feet in North Sikkim, officials said.

The Mi-17 medium-lift transport helicopter of the Indian Air Force made an emergency landing near Mukutang in Sikkim on Thursday due to inclement weather.

"The Indian Army and the IAF helicopters in tandem with troops on ground execute a daring rescue of stranded air crew from an altitude of 15,500 feet in inclement weather in Sikkim," an Army official said.

All four aircrew of the IAF and two Indian Army personnel on board the chopper that made the emergency landing were safe, officials said.

The helicopter was on a routine air maintenance sortie from Chaten to Mukutang and it sustained damage in the incident, the officials said.

The IAF has already ordered an investigation into the emergency landing of the Mi-17 chopper.