Two pilots lost their lives after an Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashed near the Mandala hills area in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday. 

The wreckage of the aircraft was found near the village Banglajaap, east of Mandala.

"With regret, we inform that the pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter lost their lives in the accident. An investigation is being ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," the Army said in a statement. 

Lt Col VVB Reddy and Major Jayanth A were the two pilots who lost their lives in the chopper crash.

The chopper had taken off from Sange village at 9 am and was headed towards Missamari in Assam's Sonitpur district when the tragedy happened.

Lt Col Mahendra Rawat, PRO Defence Guwahati said, "An Army Aviation Cheetah helicopter flying an operational sortie near Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh was reported to have lost contact with the ATC at around 9:15 am today. It is reported to have crashed near Mandala, West of Bomdila."

According to Rohit Rajbir Singh, SP of the Special Investigation Cell (SIC), the villagers had found the crashed chopper ablaze in Dirang and informed the district officials.

"Villagers from Bangjalep at Dirang located the chopper around 12.30 pm. It is still burning," news agency PTI quoted Singh as saying.

The area has no mobile connectivity and the weather is extremely foggy with visibility as low as five meters, the police officer added.

Image courtesy: PRO Defence