Indian army pilot killed in chopper crash near China border

NEW DELHI: An Indian army chopper crashed Wednesday on a routine flight near the country’s disputed border with China, killing one pilot and injuring another. The Cheetah helicopter crashed in Tawang, around 16 kilometres (10 miles) south of the Line of Actual Control which divides India’s northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state from Chinese territory.

Both officers were airlifted for treatment but one succumbed to his injuries on the way, an army statement said. “The exact cause of the crash is being investigated,” it added.

China and India fought a full-scale war in 1962 over control of Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims in its entirety and considers part of Tibet.