The mystery is finally over. The wreckage of the Pawan Hans aircraft that went missing on Saturday morning was found on Wednesday confirming the death of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others. A team of locals trekked for almost two days to discover the wreckage around 10am
at 15,000ft near Luguthang in Tawang district bordering China. Luguthang is 30 km north of Sela Pass and 60 km east of Tawang town.
The chopper went missing 20 minutes after taking off from Tawang at 9.55am on April 30. He was traveling from to state capital Itanagar with his security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup.
"The bodies of only the chief minister and Lamu could be identified," said government spokesmana Jarbom Gamlin. "The bodies of Choddak and the two pilots, JS Babbar and KS Malik, were charred beyond recognition.
"A team of villagers spotted the wreckage and the bodies. The area is 10-15 km from Luguthang and falls under the chief minister's constituency Mukto. The villagers had started their trek on Tuesday, but reached the spot in less than the time it would normally take," said Gamlin.
The crash site, he added, is rocky with steep mountains and deep gorges.
Officials said that an army post near Luguthang has been alerted and IAF choppers assigned to take the bodies first to Itanagar and then to Tawang. The last rites for Khandu would be as per Buddhist customs of the Monpa tribe in Tawang.
The chopper was flying from west to east on that fateful day. Initial reports say it veered north from its route at Sela Pass to avoid bad weather. The border with Tibetan region of China is barely 20 km north of the crash site.
Khandu is survived by his four wives and six children.
School dropout who became
CM Khandu is one of very few school dropouts to have become a chief minister. He dropped out after the eighth standard from a bhoti, the Buddhist equivalent of an Islamic madarsa.
Born on 3 March 1955 at Gyangkhar village in Tawang district, Khandu belonged to the Buddhist Monpa tribe. He was served the army's intelligence corps for more than seven years and had received a gold medal for his services during the Bangladesh War.
Khandu left his job with the army to take up social activist and politics in the 1980s. He won his first assembly election from Mukto constituency in 1990 and became minister (cooperation) for the first time in March 1995. He handled various ministries including veterinary, power and mines before replacing Gegong Apang as chief minister on 9 April 2007.
at 15,000ft near Luguthang in Tawang district bordering China. Luguthang is 30 km north of Sela Pass and 60 km east of Tawang town.
The chopper went missing 20 minutes after taking off from Tawang at 9.55am on April 30. He was traveling from to state capital Itanagar with his security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup.
"The bodies of only the chief minister and Lamu could be identified," said government spokesmana Jarbom Gamlin. "The bodies of Choddak and the two pilots, JS Babbar and KS Malik, were charred beyond recognition.
"A team of villagers spotted the wreckage and the bodies. The area is 10-15 km from Luguthang and falls under the chief minister's constituency Mukto. The villagers had started their trek on Tuesday, but reached the spot in less than the time it would normally take," said Gamlin.
The crash site, he added, is rocky with steep mountains and deep gorges.
Officials said that an army post near Luguthang has been alerted and IAF choppers assigned to take the bodies first to Itanagar and then to Tawang. The last rites for Khandu would be as per Buddhist customs of the Monpa tribe in Tawang.
The chopper was flying from west to east on that fateful day. Initial reports say it veered north from its route at Sela Pass to avoid bad weather. The border with Tibetan region of China is barely 20 km north of the crash site.
Khandu is survived by his four wives and six children.
School dropout who became
CM Khandu is one of very few school dropouts to have become a chief minister. He dropped out after the eighth standard from a bhoti, the Buddhist equivalent of an Islamic madarsa.
Khandu left his job with the army to take up social activist and politics in the 1980s. He won his first assembly election from Mukto constituency in 1990 and became minister (cooperation) for the first time in March 1995. He handled various ministries including veterinary, power and mines before replacing Gegong Apang as chief minister on 9 April 2007.
