NE NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, OCT 17
The body of a co-pilot of an Army helicopter that crashed and sank into Ranjit Sagar Dam in August was recovered from the water body in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, ending nearly 75-day-long search for him, a Defence official said.
The mortal remains of Captain Jayant Joshi were fished out from the dam around 2 pm in one of the longest search operations in recent history and were later taken to Pathankot military station, a police official said.
The Army aviation squadron’s Rudra helicopter had taken off from Mamun military station near Pathankot and crashed into the lake during a routine sortie on August 3.
After a hectic rescue and search operation by the Army and Navy, the body of Lt Col Abheet Singh Baath —pilot of the helicopter — was retrieved from the dam on August 15.
Due to the vast expanse and depth of the dam, Search and Rescue team was using state of the art multi-beam sonar equipment to scan the lakebed and based on the inputs received, the remotely operated vehicle having robotic arm along with the professional divers were launched to search the area. During similar search on Sunday, body was detected at a depth of 65-70 mtr and immediately the ROV was launched to recover the body.
Heavy machinery and submarine rescue units were also flown in, while specialised divers from the Navy and the Army Special Forces worked in tandem during the prolonged operation which was challenging due to the near-zero visibility in the reservoir because of the colloidal nature of its water.
The body after local medical examination was evacuated to Military Hospital Pathankot for further examination.
Indian Armed Forces once again demonstrated its resolve towards its soldiers and took all possible actions to recover the body of Capt Jayant Joshi, a young pilot who made the supreme sacrifice in line of duty.
Indian Army stands shoulder to shoulder with the family of Capt Jayant Joshi during this hour of grief.
