Army helicopter crashes, three officers killed

A Cheetah helicopter of the Army today crashed moments after taking off from an airbase in Cantt area here, killing the two pilots and an engineer.

"The incident occurred this morning soon after the helicopter took off," a police spokesman said in Lucknow.

The helicopter developed some technical problem and crashed at the aviation base. Pilots Major Abhijit Thapa (29) and Captain Avinash (26) and flight engineer Major Vikas Baryani (29), who sustained critical injuries, were taken to the military base hospital where they died during treatment, he said.

According to sources, the helicopter was on a routine flight.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the chopper appeared to be in trouble moments after lifting off. It soon caught fire and crashed at the airbase.