Chhattisgarh: DGCA begins probe into Raipur chopper crash

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 13 (ANI): The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has begun investigations into the crash of a Chhattisgarh-government owned Augusta 109 helicopter at Raipur's Swami Vivekanand Airport on Thursday night which killed two pilots.
A team of officials of the DGCA arrives at the airport today.
"A team of Directorate General of Civil Aviation is on the site. We are looking into this unfortunate event," said a senior official of DGCA.
Civil Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also took to Twitter and condoled the demise of the deceased pilots. "I pray to God for peace to the departed souls and power to their families to bear the pain," he tweeted in Hindi.
He also assured a thorough investigation into the incident by the DGCA and Chhattisgarh government.
According to the state government, initial indications suggested technical malfunction as the cause of the crash.
The mishap took place during a "routine" training sortie at the airport at around 9:10 pm. Captain Gopal Krishna Panda and Captain A P Shrivastava succumbed to their injuries after the crash.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had also expressed deep anguish at the loss of lives. He asked officials to provide immediate relief to the bereaved families. A detailed technical investigation on behalf of the DGCA and the Chhattisgarh Government will be undertaken to ascertain the exact cause of the mishap. (ANI)