IAF chopper makes emergency landing twice in Assam's Dhubri district

An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter on Wednesday made an emergency landing in Assam's Dhubri district and then again in Barpeta after sometime, officials said.

According to a defence official, the chopper carrying a few personnel had gone to Dhubri for "some work".

"As per our preliminary report, it made a precautionary landing in Dhubri," he said, declining to share further details.

An IAF official from Eastern Air Command headquarters in Shillong also declined to comment, stating that she did not have information on the development.

According to state government officials, the chopper had around a dozen occupants and some of them disembarked when it made an emergency landing at a field near Chapar in Dhubri.

"A little later, it left Dhubri," he added.

However, the same helicopter again made an emergency landing at Sidhuni village near Barpeta town in Barpeta district around 4pm, a local official said.

"After some time, another chopper came with engineers. After dropping them for repairs, the second helicopter left. The engineers have been working since then and it will fly tomorrow morning if the problem is rectified," he added.

There were two pilots when the chopper landed in Barpeta and both of them are fine, the official said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of villagers have surrounded the chopper out of curiosity and police have reached the spot to control the situation, he added.